Swiss authorities have concluded that a devastating fire at a ski resort was likely triggered by decorative sparklers on Champagne bottles that came perilously close to the ceiling of a bustling bar.
The tragic event at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana claimed 40 lives and left 119 individuals injured as New Year’s Eve celebrations turned into a nightmare, officials reported.
Part of the festive crowd was 16-year-old Parisian Axel Clavier, who recounted the terrifying experience of feeling suffocated inside the Swiss Alpine bar, where he had been joyously welcoming the new year with friends and fellow revelers.
Clavier managed to escape the early Thursday morning blaze by using a table to pry open a window. Tragically, around 40 others, including one of his friends, did not survive, marking one of Switzerland’s most catastrophic incidents.
According to police, the majority of those injured were young, ranging from their teens to mid-20s.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Clavier shared that several of his friends were still unaccounted for hours following the disaster.
Late Thursday, mourners left candles and flowers in an impromptu memorial near the bar. Hundreds of others prayed for the victims at the nearby Church of Montana-Station.
Pope Leo sent a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion to express condolences and pray that “the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”
On Instagram, an account filled up with photos of people who remained unaccounted for, with their friends and relatives begging for tips about the whereabouts of the missing.
Fire’s cause remains under investigation
“We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say, of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Valais regional government head Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. He lauded the work of emergency officials on the day after the fire but added “in the first minutes it was citizens – and in large part young people – who saved lives with their courage.”
An evening of celebration turns tragic
Clavier, the Parisian teenager, said he didn’t see the fire start, but did see waitresses arrive with Champagne bottles with burning sparklers.
Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they were inside when they saw a male bartender lifting a female bartender on his shoulders as she held a lit candle in a bottle. The flames spread, collapsing the wooden ceiling, they told the broadcaster.
One of the women described a crowd surge as people frantically tried to escape from a basement nightclub up a flight of stairs and through a narrow door.
Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside.
Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation, rushed to the bar to help first responders after receiving a call from a friend who escaped the inferno. He described a scene of people trapped on the ground, severely injured and burned.
“I have seen horror and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Campolo told TF1.
The severity of the burns has made it very difficult to identify bodies, bringing fresh agony for families who now must hand over DNA samples to authorities. In some cases, wallets and any ID documents inside turned to ash in the flames.
Emanuele Galeppini, a promising 17-year-old Italian golfer who competed internationally, is officially listed as one of Italy’s missing nationals. His uncle Sebastiano Galeppini told Italian news agency ANSA that their family is awaiting the DNA checks, though the Italian Golf Federation on its website announced that he had died.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 13 Italian citizens were injured and six remained missing by midday Friday. Galeppini’s name was on the missing persons list.
Resort town sits in the heart of the Alps
In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid accidents that could further strain the area’s already overwhelmed medical resources.
With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region’s snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit. The resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February. The town’s Crans-sur-Sierre golf club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course.
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