Swiss authorities have identified the first four victims of the Alpine bar fire that killed 40
Police have released the first details about the victims of a devastating fire at a bar in a Swiss Alpine ski resort that killed 40 people and injured more than 100 others during New Year’s Eve celebrations. Investigators believe sparklers ignited the blaze, which tore through the crowded venue in the early hours of Thursday (January 1).
The fire broke out at around 1.30am on Thursday at Le Constellation bar in the resort of Crans-Montana, in southwestern Switzerland. Authorities believe sparklers attached to Champagne bottles triggered the blaze when they came too close to the ceiling.
Flames spread rapidly through the bar, which was packed with revellers celebrating the New Year. The venue quickly filled with smoke and fire, leaving dozens trapped inside.
Swiss officials say the blaze was likely caused by a backdraft – a dangerous phenomenon where trapped combustible gases ignite violently once exposed to oxygen. Investigators are examining whether foam on the ceiling, designed to muffle sound, complied with fire safety regulations and contributed to the speed and intensity of the fire.
Most injuries, many of them serious, included severe burns and smoke inhalation, with some flown to specialist hospitals elsewhere in Switzerland and across Europe.
Survivors described scenes of panic as people tried to escape the bar. Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they saw a bartender lift a female colleague onto his shoulders while she held a lit sparkler on a bottle. Moments later, flames spread and the wooden ceiling collapsed, they said.
People tried to escape from a nightclub area in the basement, up a flight of stairs and through a narrow door, causing a crowd surge, one of the women said.
Gianni Campolo, 19, who helped first responders, said people were trapped on the ground with severe burns. “I have seen horror and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Mr Campolo told French broadcaster TF1.
Fourteen-year-old Marc-Antoine Chavanon also assisted in rescue efforts. “People were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them,” he told The Associated Press. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out. She was all burnt. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”
Who were the victims?
Swiss police have so far identified four victims, all Swiss nationals: Two women aged 21 and 16, and two men aged 18 and 16. Their bodies have been released to their families. Authorities say the severity of the burns has made identification difficult, forcing families to provide DNA samples.
Officials initially said 119 people were injured, with 113 identified. Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland later said the total number of injured had risen to 121, with five still unidentified. Those injured include around 70 Swiss nationals, more than 10 each from France and Italy and citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland.
Among those missing is Charlotte Niddam, believed to be 15, a former pupil at Immanuel College in Hertfordshire. The school confirmed she is missing and said it was “praying for a miracle”. According to the Crans-Montana resort website, she had been working locally as a babysitter.
Swiss business records list Jacques and Jessica Moretti, a French couple, as the owners of Le Constellation. They also own two other establishments in the area.
Jacques Moretti told Tribune de Genève that the bar had been checked “three times in 10 years” and that “everything was done within the standards”.
Valais canton attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said prosecutions are possible if criminal liability is established. Police say questioning of the owners and witnesses is ongoing as authorities work to piece together exactly how one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies unfolded.
