Around 40 people died in the fire that ravaged a crowded bar during a New Year’s party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana, in southwest Switzerland, Swiss authorities said on Thursday (January 1). The disaster occurred at 1:30 a.m. in an establishment called “Le Constellation” in the famous seaside resort.
“Around forty people died and 115 injured, most of them seriously,” said Frédéric Gisler, the commander of the cantonal police of Valais, at the end of the day.
Among the victims, some are of foreign nationality, Stéphane Ganzer, head of security for the canton of Valais, said earlier. The Quai d’Orsay specified for its part that two French people were among the many injured. Swiss authorities said that 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances had been mobilized.
The trail of the attack ruled out
Police previously said many people were being treated for burns. Most of the injured are in serious condition, said Mathias Reynard, head of the cantonal government. The intensive care unit at the Valais hospital is saturated and patients have been transferred to other establishments, he said.
Two French women who were in the bar told BFMTV that they saw the fire break out in the basement of the establishment after a bottle containing “birthday candles” was brought too close to the wooden ceiling. “The fire spread to the ceiling at lightning speed,” one of the two women, who introduced themselves as Emma and Albane, told BFMTV. They explained that they managed to take a narrow staircase to reach the ground floor, panicking, and escape the building. A few minutes later, the fire had also reached the ground floor, they added. It was not immediately possible to verify their version of the facts with other sources. Video footage, authenticated by Reuters, showed the fire spreading from the building, while people were outside the nightclub, some running and screaming.
The area was completely cordoned off and a no-fly zone was established over Crans-Montana, police said in a statement.
The explosion is considered a fire and not an attack, prosecutor Béatrice Pilloud said this morning at a press conference, adding that the authorities were working to return the bodies of the victims to their families. More than 100 people were present in the bar at the time of the explosion, Swiss media Blick reported, citing police.
