Tragedy on New Year’s Eve: dozens killed in fire at ski resort in Switzerland

Many of the 100 injured are in serious condition. There were several explosions during the New Year’s Eve party taking place in the bar.

O fire num bar from the resort of ski from Crans Montana, na Switzerland, provoked “dozens of dead” and around 100 injuredannounced today the commander of the Valais Cantonal Police.

Frederic Gisler said that many of those injured in the fire – which started at around 01:30 (00:30 in Lisbon), after registering several explosions during New Year’s Eve party which was taking place at the Le Constellation bar – are in serious condition.

The police have not yet released information about the cause of the fire, but they have already excluded the hypothesis attack.

The attorney general of the Swiss canton of Valais, Beatrice Pilloud, said at the same press conference that “the priority is the work of forensic medicine so that victims mortals can be identified.”

The SRF channel indicates that the locations are in shock. Many of the victims were tourists.

The Valais cantonal government declared state of emergency from 09:00 today (08:00 in Lisbon) to facilitate the action of emergency services.

The burning of fireworks during New Year’s Eve celebrations was prohibited in Crans Montana, with local authorities placing posters in the town notifying the closure, due to the drought situation, with a lack of snow and temperatures above normal for winter.

Crans Montana is a winter sports resort that attracts tourists from all over the world – located in the heart of the Swiss Alps, around 40 kilometers north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks – and with a population of around 10,000 residents.

Le Constellation is a large bar with capacity for up to 300 people and has a small terrace – but it is not known exactly how many people were present on New Year’s Eve.

Many of the victims would be young people, as the bar was particularly popular with young people aged 16 to 25.

Until now, there is no indication of any Portuguese among the victims, an official source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Lusa.