The bodies of 22 children and six adults are to be flown back to Belgium later on Thursday, after a fatal coach crash in Switzerland .
The Belgian Prime Minister declared a national day of mourning on Wednesday, following the news.
"Words are useless," he told national radio and TV networks. "This is a tragic day for all of Belgium."
An emergency meeting of the Belgian cabinet is planned for later on Thursday, while military plans are on standby in preparation for the repatriation of the bodies.
What caused the crash is still under investigation. The coach had only been on the road for around half an hour, and according to investigators, was not speeding.
There has been some speculation that the driver was suffering from a medical condition and possibly had a heart attack. An autopsy is being carried out on his body to see if this could have caused the crash.
Valais police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet said 52 people were on the bus carrying students home from a skiing trip crashed into the wall of a tunnel. A further 24 children were injured in the crash and taken to hospital.
The children are thought to have been from two different schools, the Sint Lambertus school in Heverlee and from the ‘t Stekske school in Lommel.