Five days of national mourning have been declared following the tragedy at the resort’s ‘Le Constellation’ bar, which has claimed the lives of around 40 people (so far) and injured 115.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but there are two theories according to Sky News: either someone lit a firework indoors, causing a fire, or a bartender lifted a waitress, who was holding a candle in a champagne bottle, onto the shoulders of the waiter, causing the ceiling to catch fire.
The country’s president, Guy Parmelain, described the fire as one of the most traumatic events in Switzerland’s history. “It was a tragedy of an unknown scale,” he said, paying tribute to the many “young lives that were lost and violently ended.” Switzerland, he said, owes it to these young people, whose “plans, hopes and dreams” were cut short, to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.
What happened
the fire broke out at 1.30am at Le Constellation bar when fireworks were placed inside champagne bottles
Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that a bartender had a waitress on his shoulders holding one of the bottles. The flames set fire to the roof and within seconds the fire spread, engulfing the packed basement where crowds of people were having fun. Many were teenagers.
One of the women described panic and overcrowding as people desperately tried to escape down a narrow staircase.
. Orange flames shoot out of a ground floor living room and several people lie motionless in the street.
BFM published a photo, in which several people can be seen holding bottles of champagne with sparklers on them, and the roof of the shop is on fire.
🔴 AND DIRECTLY
BFMTV DOCUMENT. Fatal fire in Crans-Montana: a photo taken in the bar captures the moment the fire started— BFM (@BFMTV)
In another photo a waitress who appears to be sitting on the shoulders of a bartender is seen holding champagne with sparklers. The photo, as reported by the French Media, was taken by a patron of the bar.
🔴 AND DIRECTLY
BFMTV DOCUMENT. Crans-Montana: a photo of the bar taken by a survivor before the fatal fire— BFM (@BFMTV)
The panic videos
Videos making the rounds on the internet capture the scale of the tragedy. Dozens of people are trying to save themselves and extricate themselves from the burning bar. Some found themselves on the stairs making desperate attempts to get out of the building.
🚨🇨🇭🔥 People trapped by the flames in the Crans-Montana bar desperately try to escape through the only exit, which is blocked. (witnesses)
— SuisseAlert (@SuisseAlert)
🚨🇨🇭🔥 The fire spreading at high speed in the Crans-Montana (VS) bar filmed by many people, who then tried to escape. (witnesses)
— SuisseAlert (@SuisseAlert)
Others try to put out the fire from the roof of the bar.
🚨 🇨🇭 INCREDIBLE: “Wallah, it’s burning”, young people try to put out the fire from the VERY START of the fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Terrifying… 😞
— Wolf 🐺 (@PsyGuy007)
It is difficult to identify the victims
Investigators now have the gruesome task of identifying the victims and obtaining DNA samples from their families.
Some of those caught in the fire were staying at the resort as visitors from neighboring countries. “About 15 Italians” were injured in the bar fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and are currently in hospital, while others are still “missing”, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Rete4 television. “Currently, twelve to fifteen Italians are in hospitals. An equal number are still missing,” he said.
France said six of its citizens had been injured, while eight were missing, and it did not rule out the possibility that French people were among the dead. Emmanuel Macron announced that France is receiving injured people in French hospitals after the deadly fire. “Our thoughts are with the families,” Macron said.
Le Constellation opened in 2015 and could accommodate up to 300 people inside, as well as another 40 on a heated terrace, according to French media. The bar’s Facebook and Instagram pages appear to have been deleted and are no longer available.
The testimony of a Greek woman
or. “The situation was a bit, how can I say, extreme, in the sense that there were too many people. We are now talking about thousands of people, of many nationalities, mainly young Italians, French and German speakers. The ages started from 15 years old, I would say,” said Kelly Diolatzi to the Star.
“The farewells, which were started by the event team, were at 01:08 and then, from 01:10, people started going to different locations and filling the bars. Someone threw, at the time the event ended and people started to move away, he threw a sparkler in front of the stage where the event was taking place,” he added.
