A criminal investigation was launched yesterday 3/1 against the French owners of the Swiss bar Le Constellation in, which went up in flames causing dozens of victims. The investigation was launched amid complaints that an emergency exit at the site was “always locked”.
Police said 49-year-old Zach Moretti and his 40-year-old wife, Jessica, are being investigated on suspicion of manslaughter, causing bodily harm and arson after the deadly fire that killed 40 people and injured 119 others.
The fire broke out in the store’s basement bar, which was covered with insulating foam. Chilling footage shows patrons, many of them teenagers, continuing to party as flames spread across the roof, wasting precious seconds in which they could have escaped.
The venue was branded a ‘death trap’, after it was revealed that attendees had squeezed into a narrow staircase to escape the flames and smoke of the basement.
“always locked”
However, it was reported yesterday that there was another possible escape route was through an emergency exit in the basement, which, according to testimony, was always locked.
Andrea, 31, a bartender who works elsewhere at the resort but was a regular at Le Constellation, told German newspaper Bild: “There was an entrance that also served as an exit. And there was an emergency exit. But every time I was there, it was always locked.
Everyone in town knew that sooner or later something bad was going to happen. The emergency exit was in a separate smoking area. Hardly anyone was using it, most were going up to the winter garden. The smoking area was used as a warehouse. There was a couch in front of the door and there were various items left outside,” he said.
Another witness, Grigori, who was heading to the bar when the fire broke out and whose friend is among the missing, said: “There is another exit, but I think they were locking it because some people were leaving without paying».
The Mail on Sunday also found a third exit on the ground floor of the bar, which led to a covered commercial area that also houses a ski hire shop.
Anyone using this exit, however, would then have to pass through yet another glass door to get out onto the street. It is unclear whether any of those doors were open or locked when the fire broke out.
24 victim identifications
Another 16 of the 40 victims of the tragedy have been identified in Crans Montana. Two 15-year-old girls are included in the list, although their names or nationalities have not yet been released. At the same time, the family of Greek-Swiss Aliki Kallergi is in agony.
A 14-year-old girl was also identified as well as victims between the ages of 16 and 18. According to ERT, of the total 24 victims that have been identified, 10 are Swiss, while the identifications include three 16-year-old Italians, an 18-year-old Romanian, a Frenchman and an 18-year-old Turkish.
The prayers
The authorities promise to speed up the process, stressing that they are trying to avoid wrong information about dead or missing people.
“Dozens of parents of 15-year-old children are between the scene of the tragedy and the Coordinating Center for the Support of Relatives of Missing Persons, waiting for a tragic confirmation or a good news”, broadcasts the ERTnews envoy, while dozens gathered in the church of Agios Christophers, pray with mute pain.
