One of the owners of the Le Constellation bar, in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, ensured that the facilities complied with all safety standards after the fire that occurred on New Year’s Eve. The establishment belongs to a French couple, who have already been questioned by the authorities and have collaborated in clarifying the causes of the incident.
The owner of the bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana where a fire last year left at least 40 dead and 119 injured, assured this Friday that the facilities complied with standards and were inspected.
The bar owners, Le Constellationare a French couple, and told the newspaper that the establishment was inspected three times in ten years and that “everything was in compliance with standards”.
“We will do everything we can to help clarify the causes” of the tragedy, Jacques Moretti told 20Minutes.ch at his home in Lens, a village near Crans-Montana. “We can’t sleep or eat; we are all very sick,” he added.
The couple has already been questioned by investigators, but as declarants, which means that were not arrested or formally chargedaccording to the Attorney General of the Canton of Valais, Beatrice Pilloud. They were asked, in particular, about the layout of the establishment, the renovation works and the capacity of the bar.
According to the local press, Jacques Moretti He was not at the Constellation during the devastating fire, but rather at one of the couple’s other two establishments. Your wife, Jessica Morettiwho was at the scene of the tragedy, suffered minor injuriesbut managed to return home.
Based on the initial findings of the investigation, the Attorney General of the Canton of Valais told the press, “everything indicates that the fire originated from glowing candles or fireworks placed in champagne bottles and which were very close to the ceiling.”
“From then on, rapid, very rapid and widespread combustion occurred,” he said.
Images of the fire circulating on social media show that a person riding on another’s shoulders may have accidentally started the fire in the ceiling. The research will focus particularly on foam applied to the ceiling of the destroyed baras several witnesses pointed out this aspect of the fire.
“The investigation will determine whether this foam complies with standards” or not, Pilloud said.
Number of victims may increase in the coming days
The deadly fire in Crans-Montana, in the canton of Valais (southwest), has so far caused 40 deaths and 119 injuredincluding a Portuguese citizen, reported the Swiss police today.
The Swiss authorities admit that the number of fatalities may increaseand added that around 50 injured people were transferred to several European countries, four of them to Belgium. Among the confirmed injured are 14 French, 11 Italians and four Serbs.
