Around 40 dead in Swiss ski resort bar fire, police say

Nearly 40 people died in a fire at a bar at a ski resort in southern Switzerland, police said. Another 115 people were injured, most of them “severely”.

The fire broke out at around 01:30 (00:30 GMT) during New Year’s celebrations at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana.

Authorities investigating the incident have not confirmed any motive but have categorically ruled out an attack.

People from multiple countries were affected. Regional police commander Frédéric Gisler said the priority in the coming days was to identify the dead “so that the bodies can be quickly returned to their families.”

13 helicopters, 42 ambulances and 150 emergency response teams were sent to the scene of the fire in the Valais region, which attracts great interest from tourists, throughout the night.

Regional governor Mathias Reynard said that most of the injured suffered serious burns and that 60 people were sent to Sion hospital in Valais, and that a “significant number” of people were in critical condition.

The intensive care unit was operating at full capacity and Reynard said locals needed to take extra care to avoid needing unnecessary hospital treatment.

“We are painfully aware that identifying the bodies and injured may still take a very long time for the families involved,” Reynard added.

Some people were taken to hospitals in other Swiss cities with specialized burn units, such as Lausanne and Zurich.

A spokesman for the Lausanne University Hospital said they treated 22 patients with burn injuries, while the Zurich University Hospital treated 12 patients with burns.

Speaking to BBC’s World Tonight programme, Dr. Robert Larribau said some of the patients were transferred to Geneva University Hospitals, where they were treated for severe “third-degree” burns and were “very young… between 15 and 25 years old.”

“The fire was so intense that the burns may have been caused internally. People inhaled the toxic smoke into their lungs,” Dr Larribau said.

Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the BBC that 16 Italian citizens are currently missing and 12 to 15 are being treated in hospital.

The French foreign ministry said that eight of its citizens were missing and that it could not be ruled out that there may be French citizens among the dead.

French media reported that at least two of the injured were French citizens.

Italian parliament member Guido Bertolaso ​​said three Italian citizens were evacuated to Niguarda hospital in Milan, where there is a major burns unit.

He told reporters they had “burns to 30-40% of their bodies and remained intubated,” but “the fact that they could be moved is a good sign.”

The exact number and nationalities of the dead and injured are not yet known, but authorities have confirmed that more than one nationality was involved in the incident.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday evening, officials said they did not know how many people were in the bar when the fire broke out.

State councilor Stéphane Ganzer said the bar had a “festive young population” during the New Year’s Eve party.

Chief Public Prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said an investigation was ongoing “to determine the circumstances that led to this dramatic situation.”

At the press conference, he was asked by journalists about rumors that champagne bottles carrying flares might have been the cause of the fire and whether the stairs were “too narrow”.

He said he could not confirm anything while the investigation was ongoing.

Ms Pilloud said the stairs appeared narrow but investigations would assess whether they complied with the requirements.

He said “several hypotheses” had been put forward about the cause of the fire, and that the preferred theory was a “general conflagration”, meaning a large fire that caused a lot of damage rather than an explosion.

He said several witnesses were interviewed and phones were also seized for analysis.

“There is never any question of attack,” he said.

Ms Pilloud said work was continuing to identify the victims and return the bodies to families as quickly as possible, adding: “There is significant work that needs to be done to do this. And this important work will require the closure of the town.”

Italian Ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado said it would take weeks to identify the dead.

A helpline for families has been established: +41 848 112 117

Swiss President Guy Parmelin told reporters that the fire was “one of the worst tragedies our country has ever experienced.”

Local residents gathered to remember the dead and injured at a memorial service held at the Montana Station Church on Thursday evening, and flowers were left near the fire scene.

Crans-Montana is a luxury ski resort famous for hosting the Ski World Cup in the 1980s.

Le Constellation, which has been in existence for decades, has an upper floor with TV screens where people go to watch football matches, and a large bar downstairs for drinking and dancing.

The UK Foreign Office said its “thoughts are with those injured and killed in the terrible tragedy” and that consular staff were available to provide support to affected British nationals.

King Charles said he and his wife, Queen Camilla, were “devastated” to learn of the fire and that it was “extremely heartbreaking to see a night of celebration for young people and families turn into such a nightmarish tragedy.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said that France welcomed the injured in its hospitals in Crans-Montana.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was working with Swiss authorities to provide medical assistance to victims through the EU’s civil protection mechanism.