Teenage girl educated in Britain among the missing after Crans-Montana fire | Crans-Montana fire
A teenager studying in England is among those missing after a deadly fire broke out at a ski resort in Switzerland.
Charlotte Niddam, 15, until recently lived in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and attended Immanuel college, a private Jewish secondary school in the town. The school released a statement Friday saying it was “praying for a miracle for Charlotte.”
It is understood his family have not heard from him since the disaster at a crowded bar in Crans-Montana in the early hours of New Year’s Eve. Most of those celebrating at Le Constellation bar when the fire broke out were young people.
Swiss authorities said Friday that 40 people were killed and more than 100 were injured. The identities of some of the injured have not yet been determined.
The Niddam family sold their British home in March. Charlotte’s former school confirmed that they had returned to their native France.
Charlotte is seen regularly spending time in Crans-Montana, about 62 miles from the French border. The woman, who advertised her services as a babysitter on the ski resort’s website, said she was often in town and could work on weekends and school holidays.
A spokesperson for Immanuel college said: “We are making an urgent request for our school community to come together to support Charlotte Niddam.
“Charlotte was a student at Immanuel College and her family has now moved back to France.
“The families have asked that we all keep them in our thoughts and prayers during this extremely difficult time.
“We are all praying for a miracle for Charlotte and others, and we want families to feel the full force of support from the Immanuel university community.”
Swiss authorities said on Friday that the fire likely started around 1:30 a.m. local time on Thursday when fountain sparklers mounted on champagne bottles ignited the ceiling.
Families of many of the missing used social media to get information. The resort is popular with tourists from mainland Europe, with most of those affected being Swiss, French and Italian.
