Families of missing teens desperate for news

Families of teenagers missing after a bar fire at a Swiss ski resort are facing an agonizing wait for official news and online information about their loved ones.

Fire also engulfed Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana in the southwestern Alps of Switzerland in the early hours of the new year. Confirmed footage shows the ceiling catching fire as bottles filled with sparklers were held aloft.

Swiss authorities said it may take days, if not weeks, to identify those who died in the fire that killed 40 people and injured 119 people. Authorities said Friday that 113 of the injured have been identified, while authorities are still working to identify the other six people.

Meanwhile, families and friends are using social media to get information about loved ones who were at the bar that night.

Where is the Swiss citizen? Arthur BrodardThe 16-year-old boy’s identity is unknown at this time, according to his mother Laetitia’s appeal.

A resident of Lutry, near Lausanne, told local newspaper Le Temps that he returned to Lausanne to see if he was in hospital, while Arthur’s father did the same in Bern but could not find him.

“I’m living a nightmare, a nightmare. I’ll either find my son in the morgue, or he’s in critical condition. It’s scary,” he said.

Laetitia told the newspaper that some of Arthur’s friends were found with burns that covered nearly half their bodies. “There are no words; they’ve been through hell.”

Italy’s foreign ministry said six of its citizens were still missing.

Among them Emanuele GaleppiniA 16-year-old young golfer, originally from Genoa but currently living in Dubai.

The Italian Golf Federation said he died, paying tribute to “a young athlete who carried with him his passion and original values”, without mentioning the fire.

Speaking to Italian TV channel TG24, his father Edoardo said that his son was in the bar and was last heard around midnight. An Italian foreign ministry spokesman told the BBC it had not yet confirmed the death.

Giovanni Tamburi(16) is also among the missing. His mother, Carla Masiello from Bologna, told La Repubblica that she was on holiday with her father but went out with friends and went to La Constellation.

“A close friend of his told me that they ran away after the fire broke out and he killed himself. [his phone] he told the newspaper, adding that he wore a gold chain around his neck with a small picture of Madonna.

Tania Causio, one of his teachers at Porta Saragozza High School, told La Repubblica: “I have always been impressed by his kindness, his smile and his great maturity. Every time I enter the classroom, he asks if I want him to buy me coffee.”

Alice KallergisThe person, who has dual Greek and Swiss citizenship but lives permanently in Switzerland, was also at the bar on New Year’s Eve, according to sources and reports in the Greek media.

His brother posted an appeal on Instagram, saying the family had “heard no news” about the 15-year-old or the three friends he was with who were reported missing.

Greek consular officials say they continue to monitor the situation closely.

Additional reporting by Nikos Papanikolaou