“The silent hero, he risked everything to save others despite the danger. May a miracle reach him.”
Matthieu Aubrun, 27, a waiter at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, became the embodiment of courage on that fateful New Year’s Eve. When flames erupted and explosions shook the room, Matthieu didn’t run for his own safety. Instead, he calmly guided terrified patrons out of the bar, leading the way through walls of fire and choking smoke, fully aware that he was putting himself at grave risk of severe burns and smoke inhalation.
Eyewitnesses recall the harrowing moments: Matthieu urging everyone to move quickly, keeping them calm, shielding those who hadn’t made it to safety. He was the last to leave the premises, and it was his unwavering courage that saved countless lives. By the time he stepped outside, his body had suffered third-degree burns over more than 25% of his skin, with serious damage to his lungs from the toxic fumes. He was immediately hospitalized and later transferred to a major burn center in Metz, France — his condition remains critical.
Crans-Montana tragedy: separate investigations and serious charges against the Morettis
Two days ago, Swiss authorities questioned Jacques and Jessica Moretti in two separate hearings, as required in particularly sensitive cases. The couple, owners of Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, are now under investigation for multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter, arson, and negligent injury following the devastating New Year’s Eve fire that turned a night of celebration into disaster. Jacques has been arrested, while Jessica has been placed under house arrest.
Jacques described the moments immediately after the fire erupted, recounting his desperate attempts to save Cyane Panine, the 24-year-old waitress who died in the flames.
“I tried to resuscitate her for more than an hour,” he said, adding, “I raised her boyfriend like my own son. We tried together until the rescuers arrived and told us it was too late.”
Jessica, meanwhile, conveyed the drama of those chaotic moments, recalling an evening that had seemed calm at first.
“The night had begun without any warning signs,” she said, with only a few customers present until around 1 a.m., and no hint of the disaster to come.
According to the couple’s account, the fire started during the service of sparklers — small decorative candles placed on bottles to make the evening more spectacular. The young woman seen in videos, standing on a colleague’s shoulders while holding a bottle and a sparkler, was not a customer but one of the club’s waitresses.
This detail radically changed the perspective on the incident, highlighting the risks linked to certain practices at the venue, which had already been flagged in the past by authorities. Jessica reportedly explained:
“It wasn’t something we always did. It wasn’t the first time, but I never stopped it — and I never ordered it either.”
She also described how sparks from the sparklers reached the soundproofing panels on the ceiling, causing the flames to spread rapidly.
“I sensed a movement in the crowd, and immediately afterward I saw an orange light in the corner of the bar.”
Within minutes, the situation spiraled out of control. The venue was ordered to evacuate, firefighters were called, and her husband received an emergency message:
“There’s a fire at Constel, come immediately!”
Jessica described what happened as “the tragedy of my life,” reflecting on the irreversible trauma caused by an event that began as a celebration and ended in catastrophe — with the girl in the helmet at the center of an episode destined to mark Crans-Montana forever.
