CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (Reuters) – Initial investigations indicate that the fire that destroyed the basement of a ski resort bar in Switzerland may have started when ‘fountain candles’ attached to champagne bottles were held too close to the ceiling, the local prosecutor said on Friday.
Swiss authorities put the death toll at 40 and more than 100 injured. Investigators are scouring the ruins of the bar, examining video recordings and interviewing survivors for clues about how the fire started.
Several witnesses reported seeing bar staff holding sparkling fountain candles attached to champagne bottles. Prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said the fountain candles were one of the main lines of investigation that appeared to be taking hold.
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‘Everything suggests that the fire started with the burning candles or ‘Bengal lights’ that were attached to the champagne bottles. They got too close to the ceiling,’ she said at a press conference. ‘From there, a rapid, very rapid and widespread conflagration occurred.’
Investigators questioned the bar’s two owners, a French couple who purchased the bar in 2015, according to the local canton’s business registry.
The investigation will focus on the bar’s previous renovations and materials used, the availability of adequate fire suppression systems and escape routes, as well as the number of people who were in the bar when the fire started.
Pilloud said further investigations will determine whether there are grounds for criminal liability.
‘If this is indeed the case and these individuals are still alive, an investigation will be opened against them for negligent arson, negligent homicide and negligent bodily injury,’ the prosecutor added.
