All 116 people injured in Swiss resort fire identified, say police | Crans-Montana fire
As the bodies of the first foreign victims have been repatriated, all 116 people injured in a New Year’s Eve fire at a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana that killed 40 mostly young partygoers have been identified, police said.
Police in the canton of Valais said on Monday that they had revised the number of injured from 119 because three people taken to accident and emergency services on Thursday morning were mistakenly recorded as injured in the fire.
Authorities believe the fire at the crowded Le Constellation bar started in the basement after sparklers attached to champagne bottles were held too close to the ceiling; Images on social media suggest that it is covered with soundproof foam.
Police said that among the injured were 68 Swiss citizens, 21 French, 10 Italians, 4 Serbians and 4 dual citizens, as well as two Poles and one person from seven different countries. Eighty-three people were still being treated in hospital for serious burns.
The identities of the last of the 40 people who lost their lives in the fire (21 Swiss citizens, 9 French citizens, including two with dual nationality, 6 Italians and one person each from Belgium, Portugal, Romania and Türkiye) were determined on Sunday.
Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims, but the identities of many of them have been made public by their families. They ranged in age from 14 to 39, but the vast majority were young: 20 were minors, and the average age was 19.
The bodies of five of the six dead Italian citizens were being sent back to their country on Monday. Four Swiss police officers carried each coffin to an Italian transport plane in the military zone of Sion airport, about 25 km from Crans-Montana.
The plane was to land at Milan airport late on Monday, where the bodies of Achille Barosi and Chiara Costanzo from Milan, Giovanni Tamburi from Bologna and Emanuele Galeppini from Genoa were to be received by authorities and their relatives.
The Italian government said it would later fly to Rome with the coffin containing Riccardo Minghetti’s body. The sixth Italian victim, Sofia Prosperi, was living in Switzerland and was to be buried there.
Italian Ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado said, “We promised to do everything we can together with the Swiss authorities.” “We will follow the investigation closely to ensure that the truth is revealed as soon as possible and justice is served.”
Pressure was mounting for answers about how the tragedy could have occurred. Authorities are investigating the bar’s owners, French nationals Jacques and Jessica Moretti, on suspicion of crimes including negligent homicide.
The married couple has not been arrested so far and is not considered a flight risk, the prosecutor said. But on Monday, Swiss tabloid Blick wanted to know “why the couple running the bar is still free.”
Italy’s far-right deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, stated in his social media post that the basement of the bar was not ensured to be safe, adding that “in civilized Switzerland, prison doors will have to be opened to a large number of people.”
Another Swiss newspaper, the Tages-Anzeiger, said questions remained about age checks at the bar, soundproofing material used in the basement and standards for the use of sparklers called “Bengal fountains.”
Jacques Moretti said that Le Constellation had been checked three times in 10 years and everything was done according to the rules. Local officials in Crans-Montana said no concerns were raised or defects reported.
The municipality provided investigators with all documents relevant to the investigation and participated in the criminal proceedings as an intervening party. “This will allow [the town council] “To actively contribute to revealing all the facts,” he said.
A memorial service will be held in the town on Friday in memory of the victims. The French government said Monday that President Emmanuel Macron will attend.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed reporting
