CCTV from Swiss inferno nightclub shows chair wedged against emergency exit where three victims were trapped and staff using pool cues to prop up insulation foam – as owners blame young staff
CCTV footage from two weeks before the Swiss nightclub inferno in Crans-Montana broke out shows a chair wedged into an emergency exit and workers using pool cues to prop up insulation foam.
The images came as the bar’s owner, 49-year-old Jacques Moretti, and his wife, 40-year-old Jessica Moretti, blamed their young staff for causing the fire and blocking the escape exit.
In a video broadcast by France 2 channel, a staff member at the nightclub can be seen using pool sticks and paper towels to push sagging insulation panels back into place in the ceiling.
One of the photos also shows a chair leaning against the emergency exit.
Gaëtan Thomas-Gilbert, who worked on one of the clips, takes a video of it and sends it to Jaques Moretti, who responds: ‘Yes, no problem. ‘Take the others out, please.’
Thomas-Gilbert, who was seriously injured in the fire, had previously told his father that he was concerned about the bar’s safety and planned to resign.
40 people died and more than 100 were injured in the devastating fire on New Year’s Eve.
Jaques and Jessica Moretti were charged by Swiss prosecutors with negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson.
In a video posted by France2 channel, a staff member at the nightclub can be seen pushing sagging insulation panels from the ceiling back into place.
One of the photos also shows a chair leaning against the emergency exit door.
According to Le Parisien’s report on Tuesday, the Morettis have been constantly questioned by prosecutors, and leaked call recordings show them saying, “It’s not us, it’s the others.”
Their defense strategy during the nearly 20-hour interrogation by three prosecutors was to specifically blame 24-year-old waitress Cyane Panine for standing on the shoulders of a colleague while shaking two champagne bottles containing lit sparklers.
Cyane, who died in the fire, was wearing a promotional helmet and did not see the pyrotechnics illuminating the bar’s basement ceiling, which was covered in highly flammable foam.
Referring to the champagne sparkler display, Jacques Moretti told the inquest that it was ‘Cyane’s display’.
“I didn’t forbid him from doing it,” he told prosecutors, adding: “I didn’t make him pay attention to the safety instructions. We didn’t see the danger. Cyane liked doing it; it was a show, he liked being part of the show.”
Jessica Moretti, who was at the same hearing on January 20, said: ‘Cyane loved delivering these bottles; He did this of his own volition.
‘If I thought there was even the slightest risk I would ban it. ‘In ten years of running this business I never thought there would be any danger.’
Cyane’s family is among those who vehemently deny Moretti’s claims, and they are supported by witnesses who survived the fire.
They say it was Jessica Moretti who sent Cyane out with the bottles and encouraged him to perform the stunt using the helmet provided by Dom Perignon.
Regarding fire safety, Jacques Moretti said: ‘There was no training, but employees were shown around the site and told what steps to take in the event of a fire.
‘Evacuate customers, raise the alarm and call the fire brigade,’ he said, adding: ‘And of course, if they have time, use fire extinguishers to put out the fire.’
Moretti’s defense strategy during nearly 20 hours of interrogation by three prosecutors was to specifically blame waiter Cyane Panine (pictured) for the fire.
Cyane, 24, was seen wearing the helmet of Champagne brand Dom Perignon and being lifted onto the shoulders of Mateo Lesguer, 23, the in-house DJ.
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
When told that an employee identified only as L had told the investigation team that he had no idea where the fire extinguishers were stored, Jacques Moretti replied: ‘The staff have several shifts and perhaps I forgot to give this information to L but it would have been passed on at some point. Maybe I forgot.’
Both Morettis accused an unidentified staff member of locking the escape door in the basement.
“The door was always open,” Jessica Moretti told the inquest. ‘Not a day goes by that I don’t wonder why that door was closed that night. ‘We always said the door was always open and that was accepted.’
In response, Jacques Moretti said: ‘After the tragedy, we learned that an employee had delivered ice cubes to Constellation and closed the latch at the top of the door, without understanding why.’
Jacques Moretti then sent a text message to this employee, saying: ‘You must not run away, you must stay here and take responsibility.’
When contacted by Le Parisien, the staff member involved vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said: ‘I did not close a door that was already locked.’
Regarding the flammable foam installed during the 2015 renovations at Le Constellation, Jacques Moretti said: ‘The fire chief and the fire chief approved it.’
