Families are enduring an agonising wait for news of loved ones after a fire tore through a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, killing around 40 people and injuring 119. Among the missing are several teenagers, including four from a group of 15 friends who had travelled from Milan to celebrate New Year's Eve at Le Constellation, a popular party spot.
Eight of the group escaped the blaze, while three are among the critically injured. Two others, Marco, 20, and Gabriele, 18, decided at the last minute not to join their friends in the venue. They are now searching for four missing companions, including Achille Barosi and Chiara Costanzo, both 16. 'Sometimes that is how destiny plays out,' said Gabriele. 'It is devastating.'
Swiss prosecutors said the fire was likely started by sparklers placed in champagne bottles that were moved too close to the ceiling. 'From that a blaze began very quickly,' said Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general for Valais canton. Investigators are examining whether acoustic foam on the ceiling complied with regulations and contributed to the fire's spread.
Among the dead is Emanuele Galeppini, a 17-year-old international golfer from Dubai, whose uncle confirmed the news. Charlotte Niddam, a 15-year-old British-educated student at Immanuel College in Bushey, Hertfordshire, is also missing. Her former school issued an urgent plea for support, saying, 'We are all praying for a miracle for Charlotte and the others.'
Officials said identifying the dead and injured could take days due to severe burns. The Valais police chief, Frédéric Gisler, said 113 of the 119 injured had been formally identified, including 71 Swiss, 14 French, 11 Italian, four Serbian nationals, and others from Bosnia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal. The nationalities of 14 injured remain unconfirmed.
One mother, Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, has been searching for her 16-year-old son Arthur, who is missing. She appealed on social media and to Swiss newspaper Le Temps, saying she and his father had looked in hospitals but could not find him. Hospital workers in Berne have advised those with missing relatives to inform authorities of any tattoos or jewellery that could help identify them.
