Witnesses say she was already out — coughing, shaken, but alive. Then, without hesitation, the 18-year-old turned back toward the roaring flames, disappearing into the smoke to help others still trapped inside. What happened in the next few minutes at the Crans-Montana inferno would leave seasoned firefighters stunned — and would transform a teenage girl into a symbol of courage, sacrifice, and heartbreak. Now, as she lies fighting for her life, the question haunting everyone is the same: why did she go back?
Sparklers held under a foam-clad ceiling likely ignited a deadly blaze that killed 40 New Year’s revellers in a Swiss ski bar, authorities said on Friday, but the bar owner insisted that all safety standards were followed.
Investigators working to get to the cause of the tragedy, which happened in the early hours of Thursday in the Swiss Alps resort town of Crans-Montana, have homed in on the sparklers after viewing mobile phone footage and speaking to survivors.
The images, some posted online, were recorded by partygoers in Le Constellation bar and show sparklers stuck in the top of champagne bottles held close to the basement bar’s low ceiling, which was covered with soundproofing foam material.
Videos showed the material catching fire but the patrons — many of them in their late teens and 20s — kept dancing, unaware of the death trap they were in.
