A Swiss mother is enduring an agonising wait for news of her 16-year-old son and nine of his school friends, who remain missing more than 30 hours after a catastrophic fire ripped through a popular bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
A Mother's Unbearable Wait
Laetitia Brodard last saw her son, Arthur Brodard, on Wednesday night as he left to celebrate the New Year at Le Constellation bar. The celebration turned to disaster when sparklers placed in champagne bottles ignited the venue's basement ceiling. The resulting inferno is feared to have killed 47 people and injured hundreds more.
"I've been looking for Arthur for more than 30 hours, but there's no news. It's an unbearable wait," Ms Brodard told BFMTV on Friday. "I won't stop searching, I won't give up, to know if my son is alive or if he's gone to the other side."
She revealed that Arthur and ten friends had booked a table in advance to mark the start of 2026. Tragically, only one of the group has been located since the blaze. "Of the 11 people at that table only one has been found, and all the others are missing," she said.
Chaos in the Aftermath
The chaos following the disaster has left families in a devastating limbo. Ms Brodard expressed her anguish at not knowing her son's whereabouts, whether he is receiving treatment or has been fatally injured. "My son is alone in a hospital if he's alive. Even if he's in a morgue... I don't know which morgue, I can't be by his side," she stated.
She outlined the horrific scale of the logistical challenge, noting that burn victims could have been transferred to hospitals across Switzerland and beyond. "He could be in Bern, Zurich, Milan, Stuttgart, Lausanne. He could be anywhere," she said, having remained in Crans-Montana for over a day without any information.
Ms Brodard criticised the lack of clear information from authorities, stating they "can't answer our questions because they don't know anything." She added that the severity of injuries was hindering identification, with many victims suffering third-degree burns covering 45 to 60% of their bodies.
A Resort Tragedy
The fire at Le Constellation erupted in the crowded basement, racing up narrow wooden stairs and triggering explosions so loud residents initially feared a terrorist attack. Survivors described scenes of horror as people were overcome by smoke and flames.
Defending the decision to let her son celebrate, Ms Brodard pushed back against suggestions of parental irresponsibility. "We're not irresponsible parents for letting our children, aged 16 and up, go out to celebrate the New Year. We're in a ski resort. Here, people of all ages celebrate the New Year. All the parents knew where their children were."
In a desperate bid for clues, she has filed a formal missing person report to gather videos and photos from the night. She has pieced together that Arthur sent a video to a friends' group at 1:28 a.m., just minutes before the first emergency call reporting the fire at 1:30 a.m..
The first victim to be publicly named was 17-year-old Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini. Swiss President Guy Parmelin called the fire "one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced," noting it had "cut short many young lives." Officials have warned it may take days to formally identify all the victims due to the nature of their injuries.
