A rescue helicopter flies over the scene in Switzerland where a bus crashed Saturday, killing two Canadians. A rescue helicopter flies over the scene in Switzerland where a bus crashed Saturday, killing two Canadians. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone/Associated Press)

The two Canadians who died in Switzerland when a tour bus left the road Saturday were a retired married couple, Swiss police said Sunday.

Their names and hometowns have not been released, but he was 71 and she was 67.

Of the original 28 Canadians hurt, 13 were still in hospital Sunday.

The couple who died were part of a group of 48 Canadian retirees taking part in a tour featuring a performance of a Passion play in Upper Bavaria, as well as travel through Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein.

A priest in Cornwall, Ont., where about 10 of the travellers attended the same church, described the trip as a Christian pilgrimage. The Passion play has been put on every 10 years in Oberammergau since 1634.

The villagers spend a year re-enacting the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

Driver blames motorbike

The German driver of a bus said he was trying to avoid a motorcyclist.

A group of motorbikes initially passed the bus near the Swiss village of Reckingen, about 80 kilometres from the Swiss capital, Bern. Then a single bike, which may have been racing to catch up with the others, passed the bus and cut in front of it, the driver said.

The 73-year-old driver then veered and hit the side of the road, freelance reporter Victoria Morgan told CBC News from Geneva on Sunday.

The bus fell four metres to a field and turned over onto its side.

It was taking the Canadian tourists to Austria from Switzerland. It also carried the driver and a tour guide.

The bus was going uphill on a dry, straight road in good conditions and was not speeding.

Police are looking for witnesses. Villagers say there has not been an accident on this part of the road before, Morgan reported.

Friends and relatives seeking information on Canadian citizens believed to be involved can call Foreign Affairs at 1-800-387-3124 or 613-996-8885 (collect calls are accepted), or email sos@international.gc.ca.