The 17-year-old was a ‘young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values.’
The first victim of the tragic Swiss ski resort fire has been named as Emanuele Galeppini, an Italian teen golfer.
The 17-year-old was named by the Italian Golf Federation, which said it mourned the passing of a “young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values. In this time of great sorrow, our thoughts go out to his family and all those who loved him. “
Emanuele, from Genoa, was a highly rated young golfer and a member of the Rapallo Golf Club. His father had previously told local media that he was missing after the blaze during New Year celebrations at a basement bar in the Crans-Montana region, reports the Mirror.
Edoardo Galeppini, speaking to TgCom on Thursday, said: “I heard from him at midnight, but since then I haven’t had any contact with him. Unfortunately, he was at the Constellation celebrating New Year’s Eve with friends. When we heard about the explosion, we went there, but we haven’t found him yet.”
Swiss authorities have confirmed 47 people were killed in the fire and 100 people are fighting for their lives. The incident at the Le Constellation bar is now being investigated.
Valais State Councillor Stéphane Ganzer estimates that “80 to 100 people are in a state of absolute emergency” out of those 115 injured. “I think a large number of them are in critical condition,” he said. “The situation is evolving.”
Some of the victims have not yet been identified in hospital due to the extent of their injuries. “Of the hundred or so people hospitalized, many are not identified,” added Mr Ganzer.
While the president of the Valais government, Mathias Reynard also said it was proving difficult to identify victims while hospital staff were continuing to work hard on Friday morning. But he did add that the death toll has not so far increased beyond 47.
“Our teams are still on the front lines,” the State Councillor told RTS radio. He said that identifying the victims “will still take time” and that the victims require extensive medical care.
Mr Reynard reported an “extremely tense” situation in hospitals. “Some people who were on leave came to work to help their colleagues,” he said. And discussions are underway for specialist burn doctors to come to Switzerland.
Nine French citizens were injured in the fire and eight others are still missing, according to a new report released by the French Foreign Ministry. At this stage, “we cannot rule out that French nationals are among the victims of the fire, whose identification is still underway,” the ministry added in a statement.
