A tragic fire on New Year’s Day at a ski resort has claimed the life of a 14-year-old Swiss girl, the youngest identified victim, as police have named 16 additional people who perished in the blaze.
The devastating incident occurred at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, where a fire erupted during the early hours of January 1, leading to the deaths of 40 individuals.
Of the latest victims identified, nine were under the age of 18. The Valais Cantonal Police has released the names of those newly confirmed.
A representative stated, “The victims include four Swiss women aged 18, 15, and 14; six Swiss men aged 31, 20, 18, 17, and two aged 16; two Italians aged 16; a dual national from Italy and the United Arab Emirates aged 16; a Romanian aged 18; a Frenchman aged 39; and a Turkish man aged 18.”
With these identifications, authorities have now confirmed the identities of 24 victims from the tragic event.
The task of identifying the victims was carried out by the Disaster Victim Identification team (DVI) in collaboration with the Institute of Legal Medicine.
Investigations are ongoing to identify the 16 remaining victims killed in the blaze.
Police said, ‘out of respect for the families, no further information will be released at this time’ about these 16 new identifications, who have not yet been publicly named.
Families gathered and laid tributes at the scene where 40 people were killed following the fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland
The fire broke out after sparklers used in celebrations set foam soundproofing ablaze
The fire took hold after sparklets used in celebrations set foam soundproofing on the ceiling alight.
Previously, eight others victims were identified by police, two of which were 16-year-old Swiss nationals.
These were four Swiss women aged 16, 21, 22 and 24 and four Swiss men aged 16, two aged 18, and one 21-year-old.
Parents have been searching for their missing children as tributes and candles were laid at the scene.
Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, 42, searched in vain for news of her eldest son, Arthur, aged 16.
She carried a photo of the boy on her phone, asking people if they had seen him.
She said: ‘He was looking forward to celebrating New Year’s Eve with his school friends at the resort and in this bar. They had made plans and reserved a table in advance.
‘Of the 11 people at that table only one has been found, and all the others are missing.
One young mother, Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, 42, (pictured) searched in vain for news of her eldest son, Arthur, aged 16
Laetitia’s son Arthur Brodard, 16, has been missing since the fire in Crans-Montana
‘My son is alone in a hospital, if he’s alive. Even if he’s in a morgue, because by now you have to be able to think clearly after more than 30 hours, I don’t know which morgue, I can’t be by his side.’
She showed a poignant final message from him, sent from Le Constellation at midnight, wishing her ‘Happy New Year, mum’, to which she responded with her own greeting.
