‘It was apocalyptic’, woman tells Crans-Montana memorial service, as bar owner detained

The tragedy brought people together in Crans-Montana and brought the country to a standstill.

On Friday, church bells rang in their memory, just down the street from the bar where 40 young people died in a fire on New Year’s Eve.

They traveled across Switzerland to mark the national day of mourning.

Just after the final notes of a private memorial service were deleted, news broke that one of the bar owners had been detained.

Swiss prosecutors said French citizen Jacques Moretti was a potential flight risk. He and his wife, Jessica, who is also French, are suspected of manslaughter by negligence, causing bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

Many of the victims’ families had demanded similar action from the beginning: More than a week after the fire, anger in this community is growing.

Relatives of the dead were joined by survivors at the main ceremony in Martigny, down the valley. Some had come from the hospital for the memorial service. People held white roses in their laps and held each other’s hands for support.

A young woman named Marie told the audience, “The images we encountered were unbearable. A scene worse than a nightmare. Screams ringing in the icy cold, the smell of burning. It was like the apocalypse.”

He was in a bar opposite Le Constellation when the fire broke out and suddenly found himself helping injured people fleeing the flames.

He said he would never forget what he saw.

The presidents of France and Italy, whose citizens were among those killed and injured in the fire, were listening in the front row. Both countries opened their own investigations.

The Italian prime minister promised in Rome that all those responsible would be identified.

“This was not an accident. This was the result of too many people not doing their job,” Giorgia Meloni said. he said.

He wants to know why the music didn’t stop as soon as the fire started.

“Why couldn’t anyone tell young people to go out? Why didn’t the municipality do the necessary checks? There are so many reasons.”

People in Crans-Montana have the same questions and many more.

The only two official suspects for now are Le Constellation co-owners Jacques and Jessica Moretti. The pair were summoned by prosecutors early Friday. They are being investigated for causing death and injury by negligence, but no charges have been filed.

Now Jacques Moretti has been detained. The move followed “a new assessment of the flight risk”, the public ministry said in a statement.

“I always think about the victims and the people who are struggling,” his wife told television cameras after hours of questioning at the ministry.

This was his first public statement since the fire.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy. It happened in our business and I want to apologize.”

Nine days later, Le Constellation is still not visible behind the white plastic sheets. A lone police officer stands guard, his face covered in relentless snow.

What happened in the basement of the building becomes increasingly clear, and this is the story of a disaster that should never have happened.

In the mobile phone footage, a sparkler tied to a champagne bottle hits the ceiling and starts the fire. It is lined with soundproof foam, which has never been tested for safety, and catches fire quickly.

As the crowd runs towards the exit in panic, there is a crush on the stairs. It looks like the emergency doors are closed.

But another video from six years ago shows the risk was well known. In the footage, a waiter can be heard warning that the material on the ceiling is flammable.

“Watch out for the foam,” the voice shouts as people wave the same sparklers.

But the questions here are not just for the owners.

This week local authorities in Crans shockingly admitted that they had not carried out mandatory security checks of the bar for five years.

They made no statement.

“It was hell inside the bar. The temperature was over 1,000 degrees. There was no way to escape,” Italian Ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado told the BBC, citing a long list of security breaches. he said.

As a result, six Italians were killed.

The ambassador said, “Italy wants justice, the Italian government wants justice and the Italian people, of course, want justice. The families want justice.” he emphasized.

This includes those with life-changing injuries.

The regional hospital in Sion experienced its first major influx of patients. The stress was compounded by the fact that many doctors’ own children were also partying in Crans for the New Year.

“They were all afraid that the next stretcher would be carrying their own child,” recalls hospital director Eric Bonvin.

But he is proud of how his team handled the situation.

Some of the injured were unconscious and so badly burned that it took time to identify them.

The most serious cases have been moved to specialist burn centers in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe, where some remain in critical condition.

They all face a long and difficult road to recovery that the doctor likens to “rebirth” as many of his young patients have severe burns to their faces.

“First of all, the body needs to be protected, like the fetus in the womb. For many, that’s what’s happening now. Then they’ll have to re-enter the world and find their identity,” says Professor Bonvin.

“It will take a lot of work and endurance.”

Add to this the pain of survival.

“They came to their senses and at first felt lucky to be alive. But some now feel this guilt and wonder why they are here but their friends or siblings are not,” Bonvin explains.

“This is a delicate moment.”

In the center of Crans, protected from the weather by a tarpaulin, the memorial pile for the dead still grows.

Many people left their own fresh flowers on Friday and then stood for a while in front of the ruins of the bar. Remembering, silently.