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At least 47 people were killed and over 112 were injured after a fire broke out at a crowded bar during New Year's Eve celebrations in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana on Thursday, Jan. 1, according to Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Swiss authorities initially confirmed lower provisional figures, with Valais cantonal police reporting around 40 people killed and about 115 injured, most severely. However, Italian Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado later told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the death toll had risen to 47.
The fire broke out at approximately 1:30 a.m. on New Year's Day at Le Constellation, a bar popular with young tourists. "Immediately, the red alarm, which mobilises the fire department, was triggered," police commander Frederic Gisler said, adding that firefighters "quickly contained the blaze" while the injured were being treated.
"Around 40 people who have died and around 115 injured, most of them seriously," Gisler told reporters at a joint press briefing.
Speaking to Italian media outlet Sky TG24, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that identifying the victims will be "particularly complex and will take time." He noted that some injured Italians have already been transferred to Milan.
Regarding Italian victims, Tajani said around 15 Italians had been injured in the fire, and a similar number remained missing. According to Ambassador Cornado's report, six Italians are missing and 13 are hospitalized.
The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens figured among the injured, and eight others remained unaccounted for.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who took over on Thursday, called the fire "a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions," describing it as "one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced."
Parmelin announced that flags would be flown at half mast for five days.
"Behind these figures, there are faces, first names, families, destinies brutally interrupted. The Swiss government wishes first to address its most sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims," Parmelin stated.
Multiple countries have offered assistance to Switzerland. Belgium said it will take in seven patients injured in the fire, deploying a specialized medical team to support Swiss authorities.
"Belgium will act in solidarity with the Swiss authorities in activating the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and will offer to take in five patients with severe trauma (major burns) and two patients requiring mid-care in its hospitals," Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on social media platform X.
Prevot added that a medical support team would be sent Friday morning, "consisting a team leader, two doctors and two nurses specializing in the treatment of major burns."
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity with Switzerland, calling the toll "terrible." "France is receiving the injured in its hospitals and stands ready to provide any assistance," Macron stated.
The European Union said it has been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said her thoughts were with the victims, the injured and their families, calling it "devastating" that a New Year's celebration had turned into tragedy.
"Europe stands in full solidarity with Switzerland," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X.
Swiss authorities warned that the process of identifying the dead may take several days or even weeks due to the condition of the bodies. "Given the international nature of the Crans resort, we can expect foreign nationals to be among the victims," Gisler said.
"We've tried to reach our friends. We took loads of photos and posted them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible social networks to try to find them," said Eleonore, 17. "But there's nothing. No response. Even the parents don't know."
Valais State Council President Mathias Reynard said authorities are aware that the identification of victims "may still take time," calling the wait "a moment humanly unbearable" for families.
A criminal investigation into the incident is ongoing. Valais prosecutors said several hypotheses are being examined, with the currently favored theory being that of a generalized conflagration that caused a deflagration.
Valais Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud said "an instruction to determine the circumstances of this fire has been opened," adding that forensic experts from Zurich have been mandated.
Pilloud said the investigation would look into whether the bar met safety standards and had the required number of exits. "What exactly constitutes a narrow staircase?" she asked, stressing that the probe would "determine whether all safety standards were met."
Several witness accounts pointed to sparklers mounted on champagne bottles held aloft by restaurant staff as part of a regular show for patrons. "I think there were some ladies, waitresses, with champagne bottles and little sparklers. They got too close to the ceiling, and suddenly it all caught fire," Axel, a witness present at the time, told Italian media outlet Local Team.
However, Wallis's chief prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said the initial investigation indicated that it was "the fire that caused the explosion", not the other way around, suggesting earlier reports of an explosion were inaccurate.
Authorities have ruled out terrorism and stressed that many circumstances remain to be clarified. Swiss officials declined to speculate on the exact cause, saying only that it was not an attack.
Video footage shows the ceiling igniting rapidly before the flames spread through the mostly wooden building.
Le Constellation, located on the ground floor of a residential building, has a capacity of 300 people, plus another 40 people on its terrace, according to the Crans-Montana website.
Multiple sources told AFP that the bar owners are French nationals: a couple originally from Corsica who, according to a relative, are safe and sound, but who have been unreachable since the tragedy.
Authorities said around 150 responders, 42 ambulances, 13 helicopters, and three disaster-response trucks were mobilized. After emergency units at local hospitals filled up, many of the injured were transported across Switzerland and to neighboring countries.
More than 30 victims were taken to hospitals with specialized burns units in Zurich and Lausanne, and six were taken to Geneva.
Horrified bystanders described "panic" as people tried to break the windows of the bar to escape, and others, covered in burns, poured into the street.
"We thought it was just a small fire—but when we got there, it was war," Mathys, from neighboring Chermignon-d'en-Bas, told AFP. "That's the only word I can use to describe it: the apocalypse. It was terrible."
An 18-year-old witness, Alexis Lagger, had been walking with friends past the bar when they noticed smoke and flames. "People were running through the flames. People were using chairs to try to break the windows," he told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.
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