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New Year’s celebrations ended in tragedy in Switzerland on Thursday as a devastating fire tore through Le Constellation, a popular bar at the upscale Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana.
Al Jazeera reported that at least 40 people were killed and 115 others injured, making it one of the deadliest incidents in modern Swiss history.
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The blaze erupted in the early hours of 1 January, with smoke first reported around 1:30 a.m. local time, police authorities told CNN.
Families of the missing faced an agonising wait for news of their loved ones on Friday as Swiss officials said identifying those killed in the fire, which includes citizens of multiple countries, could “take several days.”
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Witnesses described a scene of panic and chaos as flames rapidly engulfed the basement bar. Revellers screamed and smashed windows in desperate attempts to escape the inferno.
“People were frantically pushing to get through a small door. We all fell, piled on top of each other, some were burning, and others were dead next to us,” 17-year-old Laetitia Place, who was inside the bar during the fire, told Reuters.
Another eyewitness, Samuel Rapp, said: “People were screaming, and then people lying on the ground, probably dead. They had jackets over their faces.”
Authorities confirmed that the victims include citizens from multiple countries, including 15 Italians, nine French nationals, and one Australian.
Hospitals in French-speaking Switzerland were overwhelmed with burn victims. Valais hospital’s ICU reached full capacity, prompting patient transfers to other facilities. University Hospital Zurich is treating 12 patients with burns.
Police and Swiss authorities have ruled out a terror attack, saying the tragedy is being treated as a fire incident.
Al Jazeera reported Beatrice Pilloud, prosecutor-general of Valais, as saying: “Currently, we are favouring a fire. At no time is there any question of an attack.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, with initial reports suggesting that sparklers in champagne bottles may have ignited the blaze. However, officials caution that confirming the origin will take time.
Officials said they focused on identifying victims, a process expected to take several days due to the severity of burns.
Of the 115 people injured in the fire, a “significant number” have been classified as in a “critical” condition, said Swiss State Council president Mathias Reynard. “Nothing can be told to families unless we are 100 per cent sure.”
Videos circulating online show panicked crowds fleeing the bar, with some jumping from windows and others trampling one another in the chaos. Emergency response included 10 helicopters, 40 ambulances, and 150 personnel. However, the sheer scale of the disaster overwhelmed local medical facilities.
Le Constellation is located in the heart of Crans-Montana, a luxury ski resort approximately 200 kilometres south of Bern.
The fire, which Swiss officials described as an “embrasement généralise” — a rapid ignition of combustible gases leading to violent flashovers — marks the deadliest fire in Switzerland in decades.
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The tragedy has drawn international attention, and a vigil was held near the bar Thursday night, with mourners laying flowers, lighting candles, and comforting one another. Piermarco Pani, 18, told Reuters: “You think you’re safe here, but this can happen anywhere. They were people like us.”
Swiss authorities continue to investigate the origin of the fire, safety compliance, and the total number of people present during the incident.
The local area remains cordoned off, and a temporary no-fly zone has been imposed over Crans-Montana.
