A night of New Year's Eve celebration at a popular Swiss ski resort has ended in unimaginable tragedy, with desperate parents searching for missing children after a fire ripped through a basement bar, killing at least 47 people and injuring 115 others.
Panic and Flames at Le Constellation
The horror unfolded shortly after midnight on New Year's Eve at Le Constellation bar in the Alpine resort of Crans-Montana. Distressing footage from inside the crowded venue shows revellers holding champagne sparklers, which are reported to have ignited highly flammable material on the ceiling. The blaze tore through the basement venue, which was fitted with wooden furnishings and foam-style ceiling material and had only one narrow staircase for escape.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of sheer panic. Alexis, an 18-year-old who was outside, told local media he saw "a real flame coming out" and people inside desperately trying to break the glass with chairs. "People were running through these flames. You could see the shadows," he said.
Desperate Search for the Missing
In the aftermath, a heartbreaking search began. Many of the revellers were young tourists aged 18 and 19, believed to be enjoying their first New Year's Eve as adults. As Switzerland entered five days of national mourning, frantic parents called every hospital in the area and scoured the devastated resort.
"Many parents have been searching for their children," said Rayan Guiren, also 18. One mother recounted her desperate attempts to locate her missing 16-year-old son, calling all hospitals without success. Others remain unaccounted for, with survivors giving harrowing accounts of the scene.
Speaking to the BBC, one young man said, "I saw people burning... I found people burning from head to foot, no clothes anymore... It was very shocking." Another witness, 21-year-old Alex, recalled seeing someone in burned underwear rush out and smelling a "mixture" of gas and melted plastic. "It sent a chill down my spine to think that there were possibly still 50 people trapped inside," he added.
Aftermath and Investigation
The scale of the injury toll is severe, with over 100 people wounded, some with life-threatening injuries. While some, like the brothers of one survivor, managed to escape without serious harm, the community has been left shattered. Vigils have been held, with mourners leaving flowers and candles at the scene of the charred bar.
Police have not yet officially disclosed the cause of the fire as investigations continue into one of Switzerland's deadliest modern disasters. The tragedy has cast a dark shadow over the internationally renowned ski and golf venue of Crans-Montana, where joy turned to heartbreak in moments.
