A New Year’s celebration turned into a deadly inferno at a Swiss ski resort, when a fire tore through a nightclub, leaving 40 dead and 115 injured.
The fire took place in Le Constellacion in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana. Located 120 miles east of Geneva, Crans-Montana is a popular destination for its skiing, dining and nightlife. The resort has been owned by Vail Resorts since 2023, but The Washington Post reports that Vail does not own the bar. According to The Guardian, Le Constellacion was a local institution that served mainly locals. Furthermore, because it often had no cover charge, it attracted a young crowd. The bar has a capacity of around 300 people, but it is currently unclear how many were inside the club during the incident.
Among the injuries were several non-burn wounds from an explosion that occurred during the fire. However, officials have ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack, saying the explosion was a result of the fire, not its cause. An investigation into the cause of the blaze is still ongoing and authorities have maintained it’s too early to confirm any theories, but some witnesses told CNN affiliate BFMTV they saw the fire started after champagne bottles topped with sparklers set the ceiling ablaze.
“There are a lot of circumstances to clarify, several hypotheses were put forward. The main theory we’re prioritizing is a flashover that provoked a rapid explosion,” said regional prosecutor general Beatrice Pilloud in a press conference. “Several witnesses have been heard and there are telephones that were recovered to be analyzed.”
There are so many victims of the fire that it is overwhelming local hospitals. As the New York Times reports, 50 of the injured people are believed to have been badly burned, according to Dr. Robert Larribau, the head of emergency care at Geneva’s University Hospital. After the intensive care and surgery wards at the main hospital in nearby Sion filled up, patients were routed to hospitals in Geneva, Zurich and Lausanne. Swiss officials are also coordinating with the European Union to find hospitals in neighboring countries to take in patients.
“The fire that broke out last night in a bar in Crans-Montana is of the worst tragedies our country has ever known,” said Swiss President Guy Parmelin in a press conference. “The events that took place last night in this public establishment constitute a tragedy of unprecedented and appalling severity. Many lives, most of them young, were lost. Around 100 were injured, often seriously. Behind these figures are faces, names, families and destinies that were brutally cut short, abruptly interrupted, or forever changed.”
