Owners of the Swiss bar in which 40 people burned to death in a New Year’s fire say waitress they viewed as ‘a stepdaughter’ suffocated ‘in a pile of bodies behind a locked door’

The owners of the Swiss bar, where 40 people were burned to death in a fire that broke out on New Year’s Eve, told how a waitress they saw as their ‘stepdaughter’ was suffocated ‘among a pile of corpses behind a locked door’.

Providing the most detailed account of the disaster to date, Jacques and Jessica Moretti said Cyane Panine’s final minutes vividly summarized all the horror of the night.

Ms Panine had been encouraged by Ms Moretti, 40, to ‘stimulate the atmosphere’ at Le Constellation in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana in the early hours of January 1.

This included having waiters place sparklers into champagne bottles before some were lifted onto waiters’ shoulders in the bar’s basement.

Pyrotechnics are thought to have burned soundproof foam in the ceiling, triggering a massive fire in which 116 people were seriously burned in addition to the dead.

Mr Moretti, 49, eventually broke down the basement door from the outside and found Cyane dying, surrounded by ‘a pile of corpses’.

On Friday, Mr Moretti told the Vallais prosecutor’s office in nearby Sion that he learned that the bar’s ‘service door’ had only been ‘locked from the inside and with a latch’ after the fire.

Meanwhile, Mr. Moretti’s wife is said to have driven herself home after allegedly fleeing the bar as quickly as possible with the safe containing the overnight withdrawals.

Pyrotechnics are thought to have burned soundproof foam in the ceiling, triggering a massive fire in which 116 people were seriously burned in addition to the dead.

High-quality photos show the first moments of the Swiss Constellation Bar fire in Crans-Montana, which killed dozens on New Year’s Eve

Jacques Moretti (left) and Jessica Moretti, owners of Le Constellation bar, arrive for a hearing at the Canton of Valais prosecutor’s office in Sion on January 9, 2026

Mr. Moretti is currently in custody, while his wife has been released on bail with an electronic bracelet; because they are awaiting possible trial on a number of charges, including involuntary manslaughter and causing bodily harm by negligence.

Referring to Cyane Panine in a one-day interview by prosecutors on Friday, Mr. Moretti said she was the girlfriend of a close family friend whom the Morettis ‘raised as if she were his own child.’

Recalling how he found Cyane dying, Mr Moretti said: ‘I went out on the veranda [behind the bar] All the windows were open.

‘There were a lot of people there. I tried to get in but it was impossible. “There was a lot of smoke.”

Pointing to the ‘service door’ instead of the exit, Mr. Moretti said that this door was ‘closed and locked with a latch from the inside, which is usually not the case.’

‘We forced it open, but it finally opened within a few seconds. When the door opened, several people were lying unconscious on the ground.

‘My stepdaughter Cyane was one of them. ‘We got them all out and into the rescue position.’

Cyane died within an hour, as did the Morettis, who were French citizens.

Mr Moretti said he and Cyane’s boyfriend ‘tried to resuscitate her in the street near the bar for over an hour until emergency services told us it was too late’.

Jessica Moretti interviewed her husband separately on Friday and told investigators, according to records released to media outlets: ‘Cyane was like a little sister to me. He spent Christmas with us. I was devastated.’

Mrs. Moretti said that she arrived at the Constellation, which she called ‘Constel’, at 22.30 on New Year’s Eve, while her husband was staying at Senso, a nearby restaurant.

‘There were very few people in the bar at midnight,’ Ms Moretti said.

‘Then gradually the groups arrived and the number of existing customers dropped to less than a hundred.

‘I was explaining to Cyane that we need to bring in more people to keep the atmosphere going.’

Waiters wearing face masks then perched on the waiters’ shoulders and brought ‘champagne sparklers’ to the tables, which were rented for around £900 each.

“All of a sudden I felt like there was a rush of people,” Ms. Moretti said. ‘I saw an orange light in the corner of the bar.

‘I immediately shouted: “Everyone out!” and immediately thought of calling the fire department.

Video footage shows someone desperately trying to extinguish the fire, but within seconds the fire is brought under control and turns into a deadly fireball, engulfing the full bar.

Footage shows flames engulfing the Crans-Montana club as revelers continue to sing, dance and shout – unaware they are already trapped in grave danger

‘I left the business via the main entrance using the stairs to tell the security guard to get everyone out. When I went out, I called 118. [the emergency number for the fire service in Switzerland]. It was 1.28 am.

Mrs. Moretti then called her husband and said: ‘There is a fire at the Constel, come quickly! I was in a state of complete panic, the conversation lasted 11 seconds. He said he would come to meet me immediately.’

Ms Moretti told prosecutors: ‘When I came home I was panicked, in a daze, my body was giving me away.’

Mr. Moretti confirmed that he told his wife, who had a very minor injury to her arm, to get in her car and go home to look after her own children.

‘I told him not to stay and witness this tragedy,’ he said. ‘I wanted to protect him.’

There was no comment from either of the Morettis about the allegations that two video cameras recorded Ms Moretti leaving the Constellation’s vault and that she could face charges of ‘failing to assist persons in danger’.

They both described how they first rented the Costellation in 2015, ‘renovating it from A to Z’, which included replacing ‘the flooring, furniture and the bar itself’ and the foam on the ceiling.

Mr Moretti, who acknowledged there was no sprinkler system or even a fire extinguisher, said: ‘The fire department conducted two or three fire inspections in the ten-year period of operation without requiring any renovations or alterations to the building.’

When asked whether employees like Cyane had received training in fire safety, he replied: ‘No’.

He said champagne sparklers were regularly used ‘at birthday parties, for example’, without incident.

Lighting sparklers lasted ’30 to 40 seconds’ and ‘we never allow customers to handle sparklers.’

Mr Moretti added: ‘As soon as they come out we pick them up and put them in a glass of water.’

Mr. Moretti emphasized that he had conducted previous tests and said the sparklers were not powerful enough to ignite the acoustic foam, so “something else must be going on.”

In response, Jessica Moretti said: ‘We always add a sparkler when we serve a bottle of wine in the dining room.’

Asked why they allowed the display to bring the sparklers so close to the ceiling, Ms. Moretti said: ‘It wasn’t the first time, but it wasn’t something we did systematically either.

‘I never stopped them from doing it, but I didn’t force them either.’

Most of those who died were young people; Among them was a 14-year-old French boy.

Flowers were left in memory of the 40 people who died in the nightclub fire in Crans-Montana

Questions were raised about the number of underage patrons in the venue.

Mr. Moretti said the bar banned anyone under 16 and required patrons between 16 and 18 to be accompanied by an adult.

He said he gave these orders to security personnel but acknowledged that ‘it was possible there was a breakdown in protocol’.

The couple, who are both originally from the French island of Corsica, are suspected of ‘negligent homicide, negligent causing bodily harm and negligent arson’.

Both deny any criminal or civil wrongdoing.

Mr Moretti is said to be a former pimp with a string of convictions and prison terms behind him, while his wife has a clean record with the police.

Cyane Panine’s funeral took place on Saturday in his hometown of Sète in southern France.

His family and friends said they believed he could be saved.

Cyane’s mother Astrid Panine said: ‘Cyane knew this place very well. He quickly headed for the emergency exit so he could save himself and others. But it was locked.”

The investigation into the fire continues.