Survivors of the catastrophic bar fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being treated in specialist burns units across Europe, as investigators warn that identifying the dead could take weeks due to the severity of the burns. The blaze, which tore through a New Year's Eve celebration at the Le Constellation bar and basement nightclub, killed around 40 people and injured 119.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin described the fire as 'a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions', adding that behind the figures were 'faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, completely interrupted or for ever changed'. Investigators believe the fire was started by sparkling candles or sparklers placed on champagne bottles and moved too close to the ceiling.
Swiss clinics quickly reached capacity, prompting the transfer of many injured to hospitals in Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and other countries. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, offered assistance, with clinics in Paris and Lyon taking patients. The EU said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance.
Of the 119 injured, 113 have been formally identified, according to Valais police chief Frédéric Gisler. The nationalities of the injured include 71 Swiss, 14 French, 11 Italians, four Serbs, and one each from Bosnia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal. Italy and France have reported missing nationals, while Australia confirmed one of its citizens was injured.
Parents of missing youths have issued pleas for information, and an Instagram account has been set up as a central resource for families. Eleonore, 17, said she had posted photos on social media in a frantic search for friends missing since the fire. 'But there's nothing. No response,' she told AFP. The head of Lausanne's university hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most aged 16 to 26, and warned that treatment would be long.
