‘It happened in seconds’: sudden inferno brings horror to Swiss ski resort | Switzerland

TIt was past the first hour of the new year and the party at Le Constellation was in full swing with revelers dancing to hip-hop music. Dawn was far away, and teenagers and twenty-somethings were in no rush to leave the bar. After all, it was New Year’s Eve.

Outside, darkness shrouded Crans-Montana, a ski resort in the Swiss Alps famous for its luxurious luxury. But Le Constellation had a few pretensions: a cavernous space on the top floor with TV screens for watching sports, and a basement with low lighting, loud music and a dance floor.

It attracted a crowd of young people under the age of 18, mostly from Switzerland and continental Europe, and early on Thursday morning hundreds of people flocked to the venue to see 2026. Many would not live to see the sunrise.

Investigators are still investigating the cause of the horror, which began at 1.30am.

Two witnesses said a bartender carried a female staff member on her shoulders, holding a champagne bottle with a lit sparkler or flare inside, near the wooden ceiling above the bar area. An unverified photo posted on social media showed a white flame coming out of a large bottle of champagne. Others suggested that the coal used for the hookah may have been spilled.

Whatever the source, the flames began to lick the ceiling of the basement bar. In the unverified video published on social media, people in the shadow of the fire were seen moving quickly through the venue while the music continued to play. An eyewitness said some customers used sweaters to put out the flames.

The fire turned into a fire, in the words of Swiss officials generalizationA term for a fire that releases flammable gases that can ignite violently, triggering what English-speaking firefighters call flashover or backdraft.

Le Constellation has become an inferno.

Two survivors, identified as Emma and Albane, later told French channel BFMTV: “The whole ceiling was in flames and the fire spread very quickly. Everything happened in seconds.”

The fire happened so suddenly that some thought it was an explosion. Screams and screams filled the basement as people tried to escape. Many of them moved towards a door that led to a narrow staircase. Others broke windows that became black and opaque.

16-year-old Parisian Axel Clavier felt like he was drowning. He used a table to remove the plexiglass from its casing, avoiding “total chaos,” he told The Associated Press.

Citizens from the street rushed to help. “I thought my little brother was in there, so I came and tried to break the window to help people get out,” one man told the BBC. He saw people “burned from head to toe, they no longer had clothes.”

Some eyewitnesses compared the scene to a horror movie. Dominic Dubois described the horrific scene in which flames engulfed the place. “You could see orange, orange, yellow, red,” he told Reuters.

Police arrived at the scene at 1.32am, two minutes after a report of smoke.

Bystanders and first responders worked together to pull people from the oven-like temperatures into the cold outside, Dubois said. “One of the priorities was to keep everyone warm… The restaurant’s curtains were used.”

He said a UBS bank branch was opened to provide asylum. “All the tables were pushed aside and people came in; it was warm inside, plus there was more light, so the prioritization was down.”

Convoys of fire trucks, police vehicles and about 40 ambulances raced overnight towards Crans-Montana, a picturesque area of ​​snowy peaks and pine forests that turned into one of the worst disasters in Switzerland’s recent history. Approximately 10 helicopters participated in the intervention.

As the news spread, parents and other relatives of those in the bar came to the scene.

“There were people screaming and people lying on the ground, probably dead,” local resident Samuel Rapp, 21, told Reuters. “They had jackets on their faces.” Rapp said he has seen videos of revelers trampling each other to escape. “People were screaming ‘help me, please help us’.”

Dozens of injured people, many in serious condition, quickly filled hospitals in the canton of Valais. More than a dozen were taken to Zurich’s university hospital, 150 miles north. A hospital in Lausanne that treated 22 patients said the ages ranged from 16 to 26. Hospitals in neighboring countries are also expected to treat some victims.

Frédéric Gisler, police commander of the canton of Valais, told a news conference that the community was devastated, saying about 40 people had died and 115 were injured. No detailed information was given about the ages and nationalities of the dead.

Towards 1 p.m., bright sunlight illuminated incongruous scenes in central Crans-Montana: fake reindeer and Christmas decorations amid emergency vehicles, posters for New Year’s parties amid silent spectators.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin visited the crime scene, where forensic teams worked behind white curtains. He said families are still waiting to hear from their loved ones. “Some of them don’t know yet whether their child is dead or not.”

Parmelin said Switzerland will fly its flags at half-mast for five days. “What was supposed to be a joyful moment turned the first day of the year in Crans-Montana into a day of mourning that affected the entire country and beyond.” He said most of those who died were young people with “projects, hopes and dreams.”

Beatrice Pilloud, chief prosecutor of the canton of Valais, ruled out arson or terrorism as possible causes of the fire. “There is no question of any attack in any case,” he told reporters. When asked about the emergency exits at the bar, he said it was too early to draw a conclusion. He said no arrests had been made and no suspects were identified.

As darkness fell on Crans-Montana on Thursday evening, obscuring views of the Matterhorn mountain, shock and disbelief settled over the town.

Le Constellation was a bar that served mostly locals, not tourists. Unlike many other bars and clubs, there was usually no cover charge and therefore attracted young people.

Dozens of local youth, some in tears, gathered near the police cordon and laid flowers. The impromptu vigil drew Milica Lazic, who said she had heard no news about a friend who worked at the bar.

Tourists continued to shop, ski and eat at restaurants. “I don’t think it means they don’t care, but they don’t know anyone involved,” said café owner Ernesto Perila, 56. “Life goes on, the world goes on. I don’t think badly of anyone for that.”

In cold weather, forensic medicine teams continued their work, hidden by screens.