The investigation into who may be responsible for a deadly New Year’s eve bar fire has expanded. According to documents obtained by Reuters, Swiss prosecutors are now investigating current and former local officials, including the mayor of the town where the fire took place.
On New Year’s eve, a fire at the bar Le Constellacion killed 41 people in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana. A subsequent investigation uncovered that the conflagration was likely caused by sparklers held by guests or waitstaff, which set the ceiling ablaze. It is believed that highly flammable insulation foam in the ceiling subsequently spread the fire very quickly, trapping the victims inside.
In January, Mayor Nicolas Feraud, who is named as a defendant in the prosecutors’ documents, previously admitted that the municipality missed multiple annual safety checks. “We are deeply sorry. We had no indication that the checks had not been done as requested,” he told reporters. The documents named four other past and present local officials, though Reuters was unable to report their names due to Swiss privacy laws.
Previously, the investigation had been focused on the bar owners, but this new addition brings the number of defendants in the case to nine. If convicted, they could face up to four and a half years in prison.
