Swiss prosecutors announced Monday that they are investigating five current and former local officials as part of their investigation into the New Year’s Eve bar fire in the Crans-Montana ski resort that killed 41 people. The mayor of the village, Nicolas Féraud, is among the suspects. The swissinfo.ch website brought the information, writes TASR.
The Valais canton prosecutor’s office confirmed this information to the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA. Among the five investigated are a former councilor responsible for public safety, a former fire safety officer and his deputy, as well as a current member of the public safety team.
All five are charged with negligent homicide, negligent assault and negligent arson. These are the same accusations that are also being made against the operators of the Le Constellation bar, the married couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti, as well as against the head of public security in Crans-Montana and his predecessor, which ended in 2024.
‘Five current and former local officials who are now under investigation, as well as Jacques Moretti, are due to be questioned by the prosecutor’s office in the first half of April. Prosecutors believe the fire started when people in the bar raised champagne bottles with fireworks attached too close to the bar’s ceiling and the soundproofing foam ignited. At the end of February, 58 people who survived this tragedy were still hospitalized in hospitals and rehabilitation clinics in Switzerland and abroad.
