Bar managers under investigation for negligent homicide after New Year inferno

Authorities, without naming names, said that among the dead were two women, ages 21 and 16, and two men, ages 18 and 16.

Mourners continued to gather in the street outside Le Constellation on Saturday; where residents and visitors left flowers and officials briefed the media on the investigation.

The Australian government confirmed that an Australian man was injured in the fire but did not disclose his name, location or extent of injuries. The government said the individual received medical care and his family received consular assistance.

Yaron Lavy, a teenager from Melbourne who was staying with his family in Crans-Montana, told this outlet he did not know any Australians who were in the bar on the night of the fire.

Swiss police said the injured included more than 70 Swiss citizens and more than 10 people from France and Italy, as well as citizens of Serbia, Bosnia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland.

Most of the injured were in their teens to mid-20s, police said. Authorities planned to investigate whether the soundproofing material on the ceiling met regulations and whether candles were allowed in the bar.

Officials said they will also look at other security measures at the facility, including fire extinguishers and escape routes. The district attorney warned of possible investigations if any criminal liability is found.

“An accident this big in Switzerland with a fire means something is not working – maybe the material, maybe the organization at the scene,” Stéphane Ganzer, the Valais region’s top security official, told SRF public radio on Saturday.