‘The sparks flew up’: About 40 people killed in New Year bar fire at Swiss ski resort

Geneva: A tragic accident is being blamed for a fire that swept through a crowded bar in Switzerland in the early hours of the new year, killing about 40 people and injuring at least 115 others.

The fire at the Crans-Montana ski resort quickly spread through the basement bar Le Constellation after the ceiling caught alight as hundreds of young people celebrated about 1.30am (11.30am AEDT) on New Year’s Day.

Witnesses said a champagne bottle topped with a sparkler may have ignited the blaze when it was raised too close to the ceiling, while others described the panic of people smashing windows to escape.

Swiss authorities said foreign tourists were among those killed but warned it could take days to establish the death toll because many of the bodies were badly burned.

Police said the bodies of some victims were still in the bar and pledged to work around the clock to identify everyone. Experts are using dental and DNA records to try to identify the dead

At least one Australian was injured in the blaze, cabinet minister Chris Bowen revealed on Friday morning. He said the patient was receiving medical assistance and their family was being given consular support.

“It’s clearly a terrible, terrible tragedy, and I’m sure all Australians send their condolences to the people of Switzerland, and the people involved,” Bowen told ABC radio on Friday morning.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said the nightclub was a scene of “indescribable violence and distress” as dozens of ambulances and 150 emergency workers rushed to the bar.

He said it was “one of the worst tragedies our country has ever known” and that most of the dead were young people.

Geneva University Hospitals’ Robert Larribau said many of the victims were “very young ... between 15 and 25 years old”. He said the patients they were treating had suffered third-degree burns and “internal” burns after breathing in smoke, he told the BBC via a translator.

Larribau said local hospitals were also stretched, as the number of people with severe burns exceeded the capacity of the country’s burn units in Bern, Zurich and Lausanne. About 50 people are believed to have been badly burned and the hospital nearest the fire – in Sion – was quickly overwhelmed.

Frédéric Gisler, the police chief for the Valais district that includes the resort, said international victims were expected to be among those killed or injured. “Right now, we have around 40 people who have lost their lives and around 115 people who are injured, many of them very seriously,” he said.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney-general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire, but she played down early fears of an attack on the bar.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

She later said the number of people who were in the bar was “currently totally unknown”, adding that its maximum capacity will be part of the investigation.

“For the time being, we don’t have any suspect,” she added, when asked if anyone had been arrested over the fire. “An investigation has been opened, not against anyone, but to illuminate the circumstances of this dramatic fire.”

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that they were inside when they saw a barman carrying a barmaid on his shoulders. The barmaid was holding a lit candle in a bottle that set fire to the ceiling and flames quickly spread and collapsed the ceiling, they said.

A promotional video posted on YouTube by Le Constellation in 2024 showed waitresses carrying bottles with sparklers attached, sending sparks into the air around the restaurant.

One witness told The Times that she saw the flames spread across the ceiling from the sparks.

“Everyone was having fun and then I saw someone put a lit sparkler or a firework like a candle in a champagne bottle on a high table,” the witness, Julie, told The Times.

“The sparks flew up to the ceiling and the whole thing caught fire. In a few seconds, the entire ceiling was on fire.”

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.

Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris who survived the blaze, described “total chaos” inside the bar. One of his friends died and “two or three” were missing. He said he did not see the fire start but had seen waitresses arrive with Champagne bottles with sparklers.

Clavier told the Associated Press he felt like he was suffocating and initially hid behind a table, then ran upstairs and tried to use a table to break a Plexiglas window. It fell out of its casing, allowing him to escape. “I’m still in shock,” he said.

At a New Year’s Day press conference, Valais local government leader Mathias Reynard said: “This evening should have been a time of celebration, but it turned into a nightmare.”

Swiss authorities confirmed those affected came from multiple countries.

King Charles and Queen Camilla expressed their shock and sorrow at the deaths and injuries.

“My wife and I were appalled, and greatly saddened, to learn of the devastating fire last night in Crans-Montana, in Switzerland,” the King said in a statement. “It is utterly heartbreaking that a night of celebration for young people and families instead turned to such nightmarish tragedy.”

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs is making urgent enquiries with local authorities to determine whether any other Australians were involved. It said anyone needing consular assistance should contact the 24-hour emergency centre on +61 2 6261 3305.

“[DFAT] is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian that has been injured and is receiving medical care following the fire,” a spokesperson said.

Thirteen of the wounded were Italian citizens, and another six Italians are unaccounted for, Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, told state-run RAI television.

The French foreign ministry said eight of its citizens were missing and it could not rule out that some were among the dead.

The Valais municipality had banned New Year’s Eve fireworks due to a lack of rainfall in the past month, according to its website.

Authorities said 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances had been mobilised. A reception centre and helpline had been set up for impacted families, Lathion said.

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometres north of the Matterhorn and 170 kilometres east of Geneva.

Crans-Montana is a popular ski and hiking area that is home to 10,000 residents outside the peak ski season.

With AP, Reuters

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