Crans-Montana bar fire kills ‘tens,’ injures about 100 during New Year’s Eve party, Swiss officials say
A fast-moving fire tore through Le Constellation, a crowded bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, shortly after 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, leaving “tens” of people presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, authorities said.
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Swiss police declined to provide a precise death toll, while Italy’s foreign ministry said information it received from Swiss police indicated about 40 deaths. Officials stressed the figure had not been confirmed and that identification of victims could take considerable time.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. Local prosecutor Béatrice Pilloud said authorities are treating the incident as a fire rather than an attack. Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, told Sky TG24 that local authorities indicated a firework set off inside the bar may have ignited the ceiling. The bar, in southwestern Switzerland, was known among locals as popular with teenagers.
Witnesses described a chaotic and rapid spread of flames in the two-level venue. “The fire spread across the ceiling super quickly,” one of two women who identified themselves as Emma and Albane told French broadcaster BFM TV. They said they escaped up a narrow staircase before flames reached the ground floor minutes later.
Video verified by Reuters showed fire spreading from the building as people ran screaming into the street. First responders sealed off the area around Le Constellation, erected forensic tents and established improvised triage sites in a nearby bar and a UBS bank branch. Witnesses said many people suffered after rushing from the intense heat inside into the freezing mountain air.
“And then it was just ambulances coming back and forth as much as possible,” said witness Dominic Dubois, recalling bodies being carried out. A waiter in a nearby restaurant said emergency workers asked staff for tablecloths to cover the dead from onlookers.
Stéphane Ganzer, head of security for Valais canton, said firefighters and police arrived to “a scene of chaos” and a “complicated operations theatre.” Hundreds of personnel were deployed, a helpline was opened for families, and a no-fly zone was imposed over the resort. Authorities said 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances transported patients to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich.
Frédéric Gisler, head of the cantonal police, said many victims were foreign nationals. He added that the grim task of identifying the badly burned bodies is underway, with additional forensic resources assigned to return remains to families “as soon as possible.” Swiss company records indicate the venue is owned by a French couple, Pilloud said.
Swiss Federal President Guy Parmelin expressed shock on X, saying, “What was meant to be a moment of joy turned, on the first day of the year in Crans-Montana, into mourning that touches the entire country and far beyond.” The foreign ministers of neighboring Italy and Germany, as well as the United States, issued condolences. Officials have not confirmed the nationalities of the dead.
The resort town, which is due to host next year’s Alpine World Ski Championships, remained cordoned off Tuesday as investigators combed the site and families gathered seeking news. Swiss authorities said further updates will be provided as casualty figures are confirmed and identification proceeds.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
