One of the most striking details of this tragedy is how young the victims are.
Many of the dead and injured are teenagers. Le Constellation was popular with a young crowd, both tourists and those working the ski season here, and locals.
The drinking age here is 16, it was New Year’s Eve – and they were partying.
Now, more than a day later, distressed parents are still searching for their children. And young people who survived are describing horrific scenes they saw and can never forget.
Six Italians are still missing, all teenagers.
The mother of Giovanni Tamburi, from Genova, has made a public appeal on social media for help to trace him.
The last she heard was a New Year’s message around midnight, since then he hasn’t answered his phone. He was with friends, who escaped the fire.
But Giovanni’s mother has called around all the hospitals and there’s still no sign of him.
‘It was a horror movie – I lost my best friend’
Ilan Achour, 26, works in a restaurant close to Le Constellation and drove to the scene when he heard about the fire.
“Everyone was burned, everyone was screaming, everyone was shouting,” he told Reuters at a vigil held in Crans-Montana.
“It was a horror movie. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. And then I lost my best friend, who was in my arms. We tried to revive her.”
“I wouldn’t wish that on anyone,” he added. “That’s why I tell everyone, now is the time for us to be together, for everyone to love each other, it’s important.”
Swiss authorities: Between 80 and 100 people seriously injured
Swiss official Stéphane Ganzer has been speaking to French broadcaster RTL.
Earlier, reports quoting the Italian foreign ministry suggested that as many as 47 people were killed in the fire.
Asked about this, Ganzer says he was “surprised” to hear the figure, saying it did not match up with what Swiss authorities were aware of, citing instead that around 40 people are known to have been killed.
On injuries, Ganzer says between “80 and 100 people” are seriously injured and in need of urgent attention.
The situation is evolving, Ganzer adds. He goes on to explain that people who have third-degree burns covering 15% of their bodies are at an increased risk of septicaemia and a subsequent heightened risk of death in the coming hours and days.
Fourteen people injured receiving treatment in Polish hospitals, PM says
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk has shared his condolences with victims’ families and loved ones.
“Switzerland and the canton of Valais can count on Polish solidarity,” he writes in a post on X.
“We are ready, at Switzerland’s request, to provide specialized medical care for the 14 injured in Polish hospitals.”
Around 40 people died in the blaze on New Year’s Eve and 115 others are injured.
Victims have not yet been identified but, as we’ve been reporting, several French and Italian citizens are among the missing.
Police loosen cordon around Le Constellation bar
The police have loosened the cordon for the first time since the fire.
It means we’ve been able to get a bit closer to Le Constellation bar and see the scale of the police operation.
White tents adorn the entrances and exits and I can see bright police lights on inside.
Daily life is trying to continue, however. Skiers clomp past with their boots and boards and cafes and shops are opening their doors. A bizarre paradox amid such heartbreak.
Video shows person trying to put out flames in first moments of fire
We can now bring you a video which appears to show the first moments of the fire.
The ceiling is alight – music can be heard playing in the background and some people are filming the fire on their phones.
One man tries to extinguish the flames with a cloth as others look on.
19 Italians involved in Swiss bar fire – 6 missing, foreign ministry says
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani will be in Crans-Montana today to visit the families of Italian citizens involved in the fire and to convey his government’s solidarity.
The number of Italians involved in the Crans-Montana disaster currently stands at 19, the Italian foreign ministry:
- Thirteen were taken to hospital, three of whom have been transferred to a hospital in Milan
- Six are missing
The Italian ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, says the Swiss authorities are expected to provide an update on the situation after Tajani arrives.
Italian teenager reportedly killed in fire – but foreign ministry not confirming
Several media outlets have named teenage Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini as the first identified victim of the fire following a statement from the Italian Golf Federation.
A spokesperson for the Italian foreign ministry tells the BBC it is not confirming this.
In a tribute, the Italian Golf Federation calls Emanuele a “young athlete who carried with him passion and authentic values”. But the statement does not mention the fire in Switzerland.
Local Italian media had previously reported Emanuele’s father had said his son was at the bar on the night of the fire, and that the family last had contact with him at midnight.
Summary
- Swiss police are working to identify the victims of a fire at Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana
- Officers warn the process could take days or weeks. French and Italian authorities say they have citizens missing, including 16-year-old Giovanni from Bologna
- Around 40 people died in the blaze on New Year’s Eve and 115 others are injured – footage shows a partygoer attempting to put out flames
- At a hospital in Geneva, a doctor says patients, some as young as 15, are being treated for severe burns
- More than 24 hours after the fire, forensic teams remain at the scene where a vigil took place last night, says our reporter
- It is not yet clear what caused the fire but eyewitnesses have described the speed at which it spread, and the chaos that ensued – read some of their accounts here
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
