Crans-Montana (Switzerland): Swiss Police said “several tens of people” are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a Swiss Alps bar during a New Year’s Eve celebration.
Specific casualty figures were not immediately available from the fire at the bar called Le Constellation.
Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.
“We are devastated,” Frederic Gisler, commander of the Valais Cantonal police, said during a news conference.
Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families, but “that will take time and for the time being, it is premature to give you a more precise figure,” Gisler added.
The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theatre at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, according to regional councillor Mathias Rénard.
Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it is too early to determine the fire’s cause but added that investigators have ruled out an attack.
An evening of celebration turns tragic
Officials called the blaze an “embrasement generalise,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.
“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Renard, head of the regional government.
The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theatre at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Renard said.
Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin said in a social media post that the government’s “thoughts go to the victims, to the injured and their relatives, to whom it addresses its sincere condolences.”
Thursday was Parmelin’s first day in office as president, as the seven members of Switzerland’s government take turns holding the presidency for one year. Out of respect for the families of the victims, he delayed a traditional New Year address to the nation meant to be broadcast Thursday afternoon, Swiss broadcasters SRF and RTS reported.
A witness who spoke to French broadcaster 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. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.
The 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 any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.
With high-altitude ski runs at around 3,000 metres (1.86 miles) in the heart of the Swiss Alps, Crans-Montana is one of the winter sports centres of Switzerland’s ski-crazy Valais region, also home to Zermatt, Verbier and other resorts nestled in the snowy peaks and pine forests, drawing winter sports enthusiasts from across the planet. The resort is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.
In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open Feb. 6.
Crans-Montana is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountain views. Le Constellation bar is about 250 metres (273 yards) down the street from the golf club.
Crans-Montana is less than 5 kilometres (3 miles) from Sierre, Switzerland, where 28 people, including many children, were killed when a bus from Belgium crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.
The Swiss blaze on Thursday came 25 years after an inferno in the Dutch fishing town of Volendam on New Year’s Eve, which killed 14 people and injured more than 200 as they celebrated in a cafe.
