A Fire Broke Out At A Ski Resort Bar In Switzerland On New Year’s Eve, Killing 40 People And Injuring Another 119
Photos from the night showed the bottles with sparklers held near the ceiling with acoustic foam, igniting the nightclub’s ceiling.
A New Year’s party at a resort bar in the Swiss Alps turned deadly after a fire broke out, killing 40 people and injuring 119 others, many very seriously.
On the early morning of Thursday, Jan. 1, a fire engulfed the Le Constellation bar located in the upscale Crans-Montana ski resort in Switzerland, which is a hotspot during holidays.
Authorities said the fire most likely started in the bar’s basement after champagne with sparklers held “too close to the ceiling.”
Photos from the night showed the bottles with sparklers held near the ceiling with acoustic foam, igniting the nightclub’s ceiling.
The nightclub appeared to have one main exit and a fire exit, but authorities said many people had struggled to find a way out.
About 50 people have been transferred to specialized centers for severe burns across Europe, the BBC reported.
Many of the injured and dead appear to be teenagers or young people.
Authorities say it would take days to identify the 40 people killed as the burns were so severe, according to Reuters.
“We gave our DNA. Now, it’s a question of waiting long hours to try to know where our children are,” a mother whose 16-year-old boy went missing told Reuters.
Of the 119 people injured, 113 have been identified, with 71 being Swiss, 14 French and 11 Italian, four Serbian, one Bosnian, one Belgian, one Polish, one Portuguese and one Luxembourgish, according to authorities.
Authorities are investigating if the building met regulations, including whether the acoustic foam installed in the building met requirements.
On Thursday evening, people gathered outside the club to light candles and leave flowers.
Switzerland’s president Guy Parmelin has said the country will hold five days of mourning, calling the blaze as one of the most traumatic events in Switzerland’s history.
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Flavie Chen
Cherry Mohamed
