New year revellers thought to have started fire killing 40 in Swiss ski resort bar

The fire which broke out at a Swiss bar is suspected to have been caused by sparklers placed on bottles of champagne that appear to have been allowed to come into contact with the venue’s ceiling.

Forty people lost their lives and a further 119 were injured – many seriously – after the blaze in the early hours of New Year’s Day in Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, a ski resort in the south-west of the country.

Investigators are examining the foam in the ceiling trying to establish if it complied with regulations, or indeed whether it had been installed with or without authorisation.

There is still on-going formal identifications taking place for those who have tragically been killed, but it is known that one of them is thought to be the highly-rated teenage Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini.

Switzerland’s President Guy Parmelin called it “one of the worst tragedies” experienced by the nation.

Investigation on-going

The Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud said: “Everything leads us to think that the fire started from sparkling candles – or sparklers – which were put on bottles of champagne which then were moved too close to the ceiling. From that, a blaze began very quickly.”

She added that the investigation would focus on the materials used on the site, the bar’s fire safety measures, its capacity and the number of people inside at the time of the fire.

There could be prosecutions that follow with Ms Pilloud promising: “If those people are still alive, there will be a case opened against them.”

Footballer amongst the injured 

Many of those injured in the fire remain in a critical condition, with just 6 out of the 119 still needing to be formally identified.

Amongst them is 19-year-old French footballer Tahirys Dos Santos, according to a statement released by his football club, FC Mertz who said the player was “severely burned” in the fire and has been airlifted to Germany for treatment.

Promising golfer believed dead

Known to be included in the injured list are 71 Swiss citizens, 14 French, 11 Italians and 4 Serbs. Many have been transferred to European countries in specialised centres for severe burns.

Several media outlets have named 16-year-old Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini as a victim of the fire although that still has to be confirmed officially. In a tribute, the Italian Golf Federation called the rising star a: “young athlete who carried with him passion and authentic values.”

Bar known for partying

Le Constellation is not particularly upmarket with the upstairs, having an area with TV screens where people go to watch football matches, whilst downstairs was the bigger bar for drinking and dancing and that is where the fire started. 

It has been in operation for many years and could hold up to 300 people, although it is unknown how many people were there at the time of the blaze. 

Agonising wait for news 

The bar’s two French managers have been interviewed, as well as many people who escaped the fire. 

Groups of tearful families and teenagers have continued to gather near the police cordon around the bar waiting desperately for news of loved ones, with bunches of flowers left and candles lit.