CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — Swiss authorities are racing to identify victims of a devastating fire that tore through a packed bar in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana during New Year’s celebrations, killing about 40 people and injuring at least 115 in one of the deadliest peacetime disasters in the country’s recent history.
The blaze broke out at around 1.30 am at Le Constellation bar, where hundreds of revellers — many of them teenagers — had gathered to ring in the New Year.
President Guy Parmelin announced five days of national mourning, describing the tragedy as “a drama of an unknown scale” and one of the most traumatic events Switzerland has faced.
“We owe it to those young people, whose projects, hopes, and dreams were cut short, to ensure such a tragedy never happens again,” Parmelin said, paying tribute to the lives lost and acknowledging that many survivors had suffered severe injuries.
The cause of the fire has not yet been established. Witnesses told French broadcaster BFMTV that the flames may have started after sparklers or flares were placed into champagne bottles.
Two women said they saw a bartender carrying a female staff member holding a burning bottle moments before the ceiling caught fire.
According to eyewitness accounts, the flames spread rapidly across the ceiling and engulfed a crowded basement area within seconds, triggering panic as people rushed toward a narrow staircase leading to the exit.
Several described a deadly crowd surge as revellers struggled to escape, with smoke quickly filling the confined space.
Swiss police warned that identifying all the victims could take days or even weeks, citing the scale of the disaster and the difficulty of establishing exactly how many people were inside the bar at the time. Authorities have not confirmed how many people remain unaccounted for.
Valais canton chief prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said significant investigative resources had been deployed to identify the victims and return bodies to their families as quickly as possible.
She said investigators would also examine whether the bar complied with safety regulations, including fire standards and exit requirements.
“An investigation is taking place. It will identify the exact circumstances of what happened,” Pilloud said, declining to comment on specific theories about the fire’s origin.
Hospitals across Switzerland were overwhelmed as the injured were transported to facilities in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich, while some victims were transferred to neighbouring countries. Authorities said many survivors suffered serious burns and lung damage from smoke inhalation.
The European Union said it was in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance, while French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that some of the injured were being treated in France.
Italy’s foreign ministry said 16 Italian nationals were missing and 12 injured, while France said eight of its citizens were unaccounted for. One Australian national was among the injured.
On Thursday evening, hundreds of residents and visitors gathered in silence in freezing temperatures to lay flowers and light candles near the scene. Many at the vigil said they were still waiting for news of friends or family members who had been inside the bar.
“It’s a total tragedy,” said Ulysse Brozzo, a 16-year-old ski instructor who said several of his friends were at the venue that night. He said some had survived, while others remained missing. A friend of a friend was in a coma at Sion hospital, he added.
Mathias Reynard, president of the Valais canton, said what should have been a moment of celebration had “turned into a nightmare,” adding that the entire region was shaken by the scale of the loss.
Le Constellation, which opened in 2015, reportedly had capacity for up to 300 people indoors and another 40 on a heated terrace.
Local residents said the venue was especially popular with young people and that New Year’s parties were often more relaxed about age checks.
Crans-Montana, a resort town of about 10,000 residents, is a major winter destination for European tourists. Authorities have urged caution in the coming days, asking visitors and residents to avoid accidents as emergency and medical services remain stretched responding to the disaster.
