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Swiss bar that killed 40 in New Year’s fire had not been inspected for five years, officials say | World News
The Swiss bar that caught fire during a New Year’s celebration and killed 40 people had not been inspected since 2019, officials have said.
The Crans-Montana mayor, Nicolas Feraud, apologised at a news conference, and said that all sparkler candles, which were blamed for the fire, have now been banned inside venues.
“We are profoundly sorry,” he told reporters. “We did not have an indication that the checks had not been done.”
The incident at Le Constellation bar on New Year’s Day also injured a total of 116 people, of whom more than two-thirds are still in hospital. Most of the victims were teenagers.
In a statement on Tuesday, the municipality of Crans-Montana said it “deeply regrets” discovering “a failure to carry out periodic inspections” at the site for the period between 2020 and 2025.
It added that it will commission an external firm to carry out an immediate inspection “of all public establishments in the municipality”.
Mr Feraud added that authorities have closed another venue run by the two managers of Le Constellation, who, according to the Valais region’s chief prosecutor, are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire.
On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit the two people being put under arrest, and they did not see a flight risk.
The mayor then said a 2019 fire report of the venue did not mention problems, that security considered the soundproof foam used in the bar to be acceptable at the time, and that a fire alarm was not required due to the bar’s size.
However, he added that fire checks of bars are required every year in Crans-Montana.
Read more: Why ‘Grenfell-like’ material made fire at ski resort spread so fast
Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud (centre-right) said ‘we are profoundly sorry’. Pic: Reuters
All victims of the bar fire have since been identified, including a teenager with British citizenship.
Charlotte Niddam, 15, and a joint British, Israeli and French national previously attended Immanuel College, a private school in Hertfordshire.
In a post on social media, her family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful daughter and sister, Charlotte.”
Giving an update on Monday, Swiss police said that 83 people injured in the fire were still in hospital. They did not give any further details.
The severity of the burns suffered by some victims made the identification process more difficult, requiring families to supply DNA samples, authorities said.
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