A devastating fire tore through a crowded bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana early on New Year's Day, killing about 40 people and injuring 115. The blaze, which authorities have confirmed was accidental, started in the Le Constellation bar shortly after 1:30am local time as revellers celebrated the new year. Police said the severe burns made immediate identification of victims impossible.
Witnesses described a bartender carrying a female employee with a lit candle in a champagne bottle, which set fire to a wooden ceiling. The flames spread rapidly, causing the ceiling to collapse. Partygoers frantically tried to escape from a basement nightclub up narrow stairs, with some breaking windows to get out. The scene was likened to a horror movie by one young witness who saw about 20 people scrambling through smoke and flames.
Authorities have opened a full investigation, ruling out arson. The prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said they were not considering an attack. The president of the Valais canton, Mathias Reynard, said what should have been a celebration turned into a nightmare. Victims were taken to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich. Mourners left flowers outside the cordoned-off bar, and forensic teams began their work on Thursday morning.
