Two dead in head-on crash on the road between Schiers and Grüsch

Two people died and three were injured in a head-on collision on Sunday afternoon on the N28 main road, on the stretch between Schiers and Grüsch in the Prättigau. The crash happened shortly after 3pm.

According to an initial reconstruction, a Swiss-registered car coming from Davos and heading towards Landquart lost control on a straight section. The vehicle crossed into the opposite lane and hit an Italian-registered car head-on. The impact was severe: the Italian car was lifted and thrown against the guardrail separating the carriageway from the railway line, coming to rest on its left side.

The Italian driver and a passenger were killed. A third occupant of the same vehicle was seriously injured. The driver of the Swiss car and a child travelling with her suffered minor injuries. All the injured were treated at the scene and taken to hospital.

The authorities thanked the many passers-by who gave first aid before the emergency services arrived.

A large-scale response

The severity of the crash required a wide deployment. Two ambulances from the Chur rescue service, one from Schiers and one from St Gallen attended. Two Rega helicopters and one Alpine Air Ambulance helicopter were also used.

Thirteen firefighters from Mittelprättigau took part, along with staff from the Graubünden civil engineering department, a specialist technician from the Rhaetian Railway, a recovery vehicle and several patrols of the Graubünden cantonal police.

The N28 stayed closed for about four and a half hours and traffic was diverted onto the Chlusstrasse. The cantonal police, together with the Graubünden public prosecutor's office, have opened an investigation into the causes of the crash.