Dozens hurt in Swiss resort fire ‘fighting for lives’

Dozens of young people injured in a bar fire on New Year’s Eve in Switzerland have been transferred to specialist burns units across Europe as they fight for their lives following the devastating blaze that killed at least 40 people.

Initial findings showed that the fire, which spread among mostly young revelers at Le Constellation bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, was likely caused by sparkler candles being carried too close to the ceiling, the local prosecutor said.

Most of the injured were in their teens to mid-20s, police said.

Meanwhile, investigators have focused on the painful task of identifying burned bodies, warning that the process is very delicate and will take time.

The burns were so serious that Swiss officials said it could take days to release the names of those killed in the fire.

The official death toll is 40, with 119 people injured, most seriously.

Officials said these figures are not exact.

“Many of the injured are still fighting for their lives today,” Valais region chief Mathias Reynard said at a news conference.

About 50 of the injured have been or will be transferred to burn units at other hospitals, he said.

Police chief Frederic Gisler said at the same press conference that 113 people were identified, including 71 Swiss, 14 French, 11 Italian, four Serbian, one Bosnian, one Belgian, one Polish, one Portuguese and one Luxembourgish.

The nationalities of the 14 injured people have not yet been determined.

Australia also announced that one of its citizens was injured.

Local prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said initial investigations showed that the fire at the Swiss ski resort bar was started when “fountain candles” attached to champagne bottles were moved too close to the ceiling.

“Everything indicates that the fire started from burning candles or ‘Bengal lights’ attached to champagne bottles,” he said at the press conference, adding that this hypothesis had most likely not yet been confirmed.

“From there it was a fast, very fast and widespread fire.”

The candles, which were shooting upward sparks, were the same type of candles commonly found at parties, authorities said.

Pilloud said the investigation was also checking whether insulation foam in the ceiling was responsible for the rapid spread of the fire.

Further investigations will show whether anyone should be held criminally liable for negligence, he added.

Emanuele Galeppini, a 16-year-old Italian international golfer living in Dubai, was the first victim whose identity was made public.

Parents and friends of missing teenagers have appealed for news of their loved ones as foreign embassies try to unravel whether their citizens were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to hit modern Switzerland.

Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, mother of 16-year-old Arthur, was looking for information near the scene of the fire.

“We are together, we are in shock, we hold each other in our arms and cry. We are trying to give each other hope,” he said of his relatives and other missing people.

Twenty-year-old Marco from Milan told Reuters outside the Constellation bar that twenty of his friends were missing.

“Some of them are injured, their condition is bad. Some of them are completely safe. We cannot hear from some of our friends. They told us that they could not find them,” he said.

“No one can help us find our friends.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who is in Switzerland, said that 13 Italians were in hospital and six were recorded as missing.

The French embassy in Switzerland said eight French citizens were missing and nine were injured and were being treated.

Visitors and residents of Crans-Montana, frequented not only by skiers but also by golfers, were stunned by the inferno.

Dozens of people laid flowers or lit candles at the makeshift altar at the top of the road leading to the bar, which police cordoned off.

Some cried, some hugged each other silently.

“It could have been us too,” said 18-year-old Emma from Geneva outside the cordoned off bar.

“There was a huge queue, so we decided not to go in,” he said.

“I see the casualties and they’re all people our age.”

with AP