Dozens of people have already been confirmed dead following the fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana resort, best known as an international ski and golf venue, in Switzerland
Desperate parents last night scoured a devastated Swiss ski resort after at least 47 people were killed and 115 injured in a fire.
The horror blaze tore through the basement venue, Le Constellation, in the Alpine resort of Crans-Montana shortly after the midnight gongs amid the New Year’s Eve celebration. Distressing footage shows people inside the crowded bar holding champagne sparklers, which are said to have ignited material on the ceiling.
Last night, parents searched for their children as Switzerland entered five days of national mourning. Among the revellers were tourists aged 18 and 19, many of whom were thought to have been enjoying their first New Year’s Eve celebration as young adults.
Alexis, an 18-year-old who was outside the club when he first spotted the flames, told local media that people inside tried desperately to break the glass. He said: “It was a real flame coming out. It was coming out and… in fact, people were running through these flames. You could see the shadows. People were trying to break the glass with chairs in the bar.”
And Rayan Guiren, also 18, said: “Many parents have been searching for their children.” Mothers and fathers have also called all the hospitals in the area in the hope of finding their children, it is reported.
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Survivors have described harrowing scenes inside and outside the bar where revellers were burned and overcome with smoke. Speaking to the BBC, one young man said: “I saw people burning… I found people burning from head to foot, no clothes anymore… It was very shocking. I went in this bar every day this week – the day I didn’t go, it burned.”
The man’s brothers were inside Le Constellation but managed to escape without serious injuries. However, more than 100 other people have suffered injuries, some are life-threatening wounds.
Others remain missing. One mother told how she had been desperately calling all the hospitals to find her missing 16-year-old son — but added she had so far been unable to locate him.
Another witness, 21-year-old Alex, said he was just outside when the first victims of the tragedy began rushing out: “I saw someone in their underwear, burned. That’s when I realised there was definitely something wrong.” He recalled a “smell of gas, of melted plastic, a very unpleasant mixture. And then half a dozen burned people came out.” Alex added: “It sent a chill down my spine to think that there were possibly still 50 people trapped inside.”
Le Constellation was fitted with wooden furnishings and foam-style ceiling material and had only one narrow staircase for revellers trying to escape. Police have not yet disclosed the cause of the fire.
