Swiss authorities have announced that they have completed the identification of all 40 victims who died in the horrific New Year’s Eve fire at the Crans-Montana resort. Amidst the national grief, pressure for accountability from the bar’s managers is mounting.
People gather at a temporary memorial near the Le Constellation bar after a fire and explosion during a New Year’s Eve party left many dead and injured at the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland. Photo: Reuters
More than half of the victims were teenagers.
On the morning of January 5th (local time), an atmosphere of grief still hung over the resort town of Crans-Montana in the Valais canton, southwestern Switzerland. The fire at the “Le Constellation” bar in the early hours of New Year’s Day is considered one of the worst disasters in the country’s modern history.
According to the latest announcement from the Valais cantonal police, all 40 victims’ bodies have been identified. The statistics are shocking, as 26 of the 40 victims were teenagers. The youngest victims were only 14 years old, including a French citizen and a Swiss citizen.
The list of fatalities reflects the international nature of the resort: 21 Swiss citizens, 7 French, and 6 Italians. The remaining victims came from Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Türkiye, and other countries with multiple nationalities. Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, mother of Arthur Brodard – a 16-year-old Swiss victim – shared on her personal page: “Now we can begin to mourn our son, knowing that he has found peace.”
In addition to the fatalities, the fire injured more than 100 others, many with severe burns. The Swiss government said 35 patients had been transferred to specialist clinics in Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy for intensive treatment.
The causes of the disaster and the wave of outrage.
According to preliminary investigations by prosecutors, the fire most likely originated from the use of “candle-shaped flares” in an enclosed space. These sparks ignited the basement ceiling of the bar and spread rapidly and uncontrollably.
The Swiss daily newspaper Blick, in its January 5th issue, posed the question on its front page: “Why are the bar operators still free?”, accompanied by images of people and media gathered around bouquets of flowers in remembrance of the scene of the fire.
