About 40 people are believed to have been killed and 115 injured after a fire tore through a crowded bar during a New Year's Eve party in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana. Swiss police confirmed several dozen partygoers were dead, with the blaze thought to be the result of an accident.
A police spokesperson in the canton of Valais said the fire started at about 1.30am local time in a bar called Le Constellation, which is popular with tourists. 'More than a hundred people were in the building and we are seeing many injured and many dead,' he said. Video from the scene shows orange flames billowing from inside the ground-floor bar and lounge, with screams and loud music audible.
Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that they saw a bartender carrying a female staff member on his shoulders. She was holding a lit candle in a champagne bottle that set fire to a wooden ceiling, causing it to collapse. Another witness described partygoers breaking windows to escape, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene.
The venue was set over two floors, with a bar on the main floor and narrow stairs leading to a basement nightclub. Ulysse Brozzo, 16, a ski instructor, said several friends were inside and speculated that shisha pipe charcoal could have caused the fire. 'It's a total tragedy,' he said.
Speaking at a press conference, Mathias Reynard, president of the Valais canton, said what should have been a moment of celebration 'turned into a nightmare'. Police commander Frédéric Gisler said authorities were 'all shaken by what happened'. Prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud confirmed a full investigation had been opened, but said they were not considering an attack.
