Authorities on Friday said a fast-moving fire at a mountain resort bar full of New Year’s revelers in Switzerland was likely caused by sparkling candles. The fire left about 40 dead and many others critically injured, authorities said.
Friday’s update on cause, victims
In a briefing Friday, investigators said they believe sparkling candles atop champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling of a bar crowded with patrons started the blaze.
Authorities say they will look into whether the sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations, per The Associated Press.
The candles give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, and are used for parties, Swiss officials said, adding they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.
Beatrice Pilloud, the attorney general for the Valais region, warned of possible prosecutions if any criminal liability is found, according to wire reports.
Other updates:
- Forty people were killed and another 119 injured in the blaze. Many of the wounded were in their teens to mid-20s, police said.
- Investigators say the injured included 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, according to Frédéric Gisler, police commander of the Valais region. The nationalities of 14 people were still unclear.
- It was one of the worst tragedies in Switzerland’s history.
Eyewitness: Despite chaos, partygoers tried to help each other
Nathan Huguenin, 19, said he wasn’t able to sleep after escaping from the fire. He was in the resort bar when the fire started, according to CBS News.
“I feel like it’s actually a nightmare, that I’m going to wake up,” Huguenin told journalists on Thursday, per CBS. “I closed my eyes, and everything kept coming back to me, because I saw people being resuscitated. I saw people completely burned. I saw people dying. Honestly, it was quite complicated and quite difficult to stomach.”
Popular bar was hosting New Year’s Eve event
According to news reports, the popular Swiss Alpine resort bar Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, was hosting a New Year’s Eve event. At about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, local time, a quick-moving fire, initially reported as an explosion, moved through the crowded bar.
The BBC reported Thursday that officials confirm about 40 were killed and 115 more injured in the fire, many of the injured in critical condition at local hospitals.
The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined as the investigation continues, but officials have ruled out an attack. Some witnesses think “birthday candles”, on top of a champagne bottle, set fire to the ceiling.
Swiss authorities have said in media briefings Thursday that the victims come from several nations and that it could become one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.
“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government of the Valais Canton, during a press conference early Thursday, according to The Associated Press.
According to media reports, the resort in southwestern Switzerland is a popular one for golf and hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter.
In an update later Thursday, officials said as many as 60 people are being treated at hospitals, BBC reported.
Eyewitness accounts from those who were in the bar detail panic as the fire quickly spread and groups of people moved toward the exits.