Swiss authorities are working urgently to identify the victims of a blaze that swept through a packed bar in the Alpine resort town of Crans-Montana, killing about 40 people and injuring 115 others who had gathered for a New Year’s Eve celebration.
President Guy Parmelin announced that Switzerland will observe five days of national mourning, describing the disaster as one of the most traumatic events in the country’s modern history.
“It was a tragedy of an unknown scale,” he said, paying tribute to the many young people whose lives were “lost and interrupted”.
He said Switzerland owed it to those victims — whose “projects, hopes and dreams” were cut short — to ensure that a similar tragedy could never happen again.
The fire broke out at 1:30am in the town’s Le Constellation bar, though the cause has not yet been confirmed. Some witnesses said the blaze may have started after sparklers or flares were placed in champagne bottles.
Two women told the French broadcaster BFMTV that a bartender carried a female staff member who had been holding one of the burning bottles.
Witnesses said the flames quickly reached the ceiling and spread within seconds, engulfing a crowded basement area filled with revellers, many of them teenagers. One woman described a sudden crowd surge as people tried desperately to escape up a narrow stairway.
Swiss police warned that it could take days or even weeks to identify everyone who died. Authorities said the exact number of people in the bar at the time remains unclear, and they have not confirmed how many individuals are still missing.
The canton’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said significant resources had been deployed “to identify the victims and return their bodies to the families as quickly as possible”.
Pilloud declined to comment on reports that candles may have played a role in the blaze.
“An investigation is under way. It will determine the exact circumstances of what happened,” she said, adding that officials would also examine whether the venue complied with safety regulations and exit requirements.
Hundreds of people gathered in silence on Thursday evening despite freezing temperatures, laying flowers and lighting candles in tribute to the victims. Many at the vigil said they knew people who were still unaccounted for or seriously injured.
Ulysse Brozzo, 16, an instructor at a local ski school, said several of his friends had been inside the club at the time of the fire.
He said he had managed to contact some friends who were safe but had not yet heard from others who were known to be inside.
One acquaintance was reported to be in a coma at Sion hospital. “It’s a total tragedy,” he said. “There were hundreds of people inside.”
Parmelin, speaking on his first day in office as Switzerland’s new head of state, said some survivors had been “severely injured”, suffering serious burns and lung damage.
The injured were taken to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich, while many others were transferred to neighbouring countries for further treatment.
The European Union said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical support, while the French president, Emmanuel Macron, confirmed that some of the injured were being treated in hospitals in France.
Several of those caught up in the fire were visitors from nearby countries. Italy’s foreign ministry said 16 of its citizens were missing and 12 were among the injured.
France said eight nationals were missing and did not rule out the possibility that some were among the dead. One Australian was also reported injured.
Crans-Montana is a busy Alpine resort town of about 10,000 residents in the Valais canton, overlooking the valley toward the Matterhorn. Unlike nearby Verbier, which attracts a largely anglophone luxury crowd, Crans-Montana is particularly popular with affluent European visitors.
Brozzo said the venue was arranged over two floors, with a bar on the main level and a basement nightclub below, linked by a narrow staircase. He suggested it was likely that many people became trapped or incapacitated by smoke inhalation.
Speaking on Thursday morning, Mathias Reynard, president of the Valais canton, said what should have been a night of celebration had “turned into a nightmare”.
He said the community was deeply shaken. “We are all profoundly affected by what happened overnight in Crans,” he told reporters.
Le Constellation opened in 2015 and was licensed to hold up to 300 people indoors, with space for a further 40 guests on a heated terrace, according to French media.
The owner of the Dédé clothing shop across the street said the venue was a popular gathering spot for younger people, including the children of many of her friends, some of whom would drink there from the age of 14.
François, 17, a ski instructor who said he had frequently attended events at the bar, said New Year parties were generally known to be more relaxed about age checks for entry.
The town relies heavily on a predominantly European tourist base, who come to ski, dine in Michelin-starred restaurants and shop in luxury boutiques such as Moncler and Louis Vuitton. It has around 3,000 hotel rooms and about 10,000 permanent residents.
With ski slopes currently busy during the holiday period, authorities urged visitors to exercise caution in the coming days and to avoid incidents that could place further strain on already overstretched emergency and medical services.
