Among those injured in the disaster in Crans-Montana in Switzerland is a player from the French first division soccer team FC Metz. According to the club, the 19-year-old was flown to Germany.
The fire disaster on New Year’s Eve in a bar in Crans-Montana claimed the lives of around 40 people. 115 others were injured, 80 of whom are reportedly in critical condition – including professional soccer player Tahirys Dos Santos. His club announced this on X.
“FC Metz is deeply saddened to announce that Tahirys Dos Santos, a young player of the club, was injured in the fire in Crans-Montana,” the club wrote on January 1 on its X account and in a lengthy press release on its website. The defender was therefore “flown to Germany with severe burns, where he is currently being treated.”
FC Metz wants to “assure the 19-year-old’s family of full support and is working with the medical authorities to organize Tahirys’ transfer to the nearby Mercy Hospital,” it said. You will be informed again about your condition as soon as there are any significant changes.
Italian golf talent falls victim to the flames in Crans-Montana
According to the sports newspaper “L’Équipe”, Dos Santos spent a few days of vacation with friends in the mountains and stayed overnight in a hut. He was actually supposed to start training again in Metz on Friday.
The defensive player, who has signed a training contract with Metz, is “a reliable and valued member of the Metz reserve team” and, according to “L’Équipe”, even wore the captain’s armband at the start of the season. On December 20, he was called up to the first team squad for the first time in his career, but did not play.
For Emanuele Galeppini, however, any help came too late. The Italian Golf Federation announced the 16-year-old’s death. The statement says: “We mourn the loss of Emanuele Galeppini, a young athlete who brought passion and authentic values.” Our thoughts are with his family. “Emanuele, you will remain in our hearts forever.”
On January 1, 2026, up to 200 mostly young people celebrated the turn of the year in the “Le Constellation” bar in the Swiss luxury ski resort of Crans-Montana. The mood: exuberant. Suddenly it started burning around 1:30 a.m. Why is not yet clear. Eyewitnesses speak of candles on champagne bottles and sparklers as possible triggers. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating arson. According to their own statements, the investigators assume that it was an accident and not an attack.
According to “Bild” information from government circles, three injured people have now been transferred from Switzerland to Germany. As the paper learned, a so-called “cloverleaf mechanism” is now being used for distribution,
If there is an overload in foreign hospitals – as is now the case in the university hospitals in Switzerland – authorities can submit an international request for assistance and ask for patients to be taken on board.
pk/dpa
