CRANNS-MONTANA, Switzerland — Ringing in the New Year with a drinking and dancing party high in the Swiss Alps, 17-year-old Ebenezer Mehari decided to take a break outside the crowded Constellation bar.
As he turned to go back inside, he told NBC News that “all hell broke loose” at the scene Friday when a deadly fire broke out. “I heard a big boom and everyone was screaming,” he said.
Mehari said thick smoke engulfed the venue and the crowd, blinding him. He said he fell to the ground as people started running from the bar, but a man pulled him to safety.
His friends weren't so lucky, he said. “I have four friends who died,” he said, still trying to process the loss. “It's unrealistic for me.”
Mehari, who has lived in the area for 15 years, said he saw a man he knew from school mutilated and burning, as well as others whose hair and clothes were burned off.
“Someone was dying right in front of me and there was nothing I could do,” he said. “Her face was so burned that it turned red.”
The bar was popular with local teenagers, he said. In Switzerland, the legal drinking age is 16 years old.
Mehari was among the survivors taken to Zion's hospital ward, where he was offered psychiatric care. “I tried to sleep, but I can’t,” he said.
Mehari's testimony was among harrowing witness statements that emerged Friday as investigators searched for answers. At least 40 people were killed and 119 injured, many with severe burns that the senior doctor treating them said would require “months of rehabilitation” and even have “lifelong consequences,” officials said.
Axel Clavier, 16, from Paris, told The Associated Press that he lost his jacket, shoes and phone during the escape, although he was grateful he was able to do so. “I'm still alive and it's just little things,” he said. “I'm still in shock.”
Samuel Rapp said he was in a nearby restaurant when the fire broke out.
“A lot of people were screaming and it was terrible,” Rapp told NBC News' British broadcast partner Sky News. “People were walking all over,” he said, adding that he “saw a lot of people on the floor, and I think these people were dead because somebody put jackets over their faces.”
Letitia Place, 17, said she was overwhelmed by the chaos.
“There's a little door that everyone was pushing and so we all fell, we were piled on top of each other, some people were burning and some were dead next to us,” she told Reuters. “I was so scared—scared for myself, scared for my friends, scared for everyone inside.”
She added: “We've all seen really terrible things that no one should ever have to see.”
Eric Bonvin, CEO of Zion Regional Hospital, which treated dozens of wounded people, said people with severe burns would face months of treatment.
The victims were teenagers and young adults, averaging about 20 years old, he told The Associated Press at the hospital.
The wounded survivors suffered varying degrees of burns not only to the skin, but also to the respiratory tract.
“There was smoke and heat inhalation that likely resulted in internal burns for some. It's truly a catastrophic situation as you can imagine,” Bonvin said.
“It was hard for everyone to go through this. Probably also because everyone was asking themselves: “Was my child, my cousin, someone from this region at this party?” This place was very famous as a place to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, it’s always traumatic to see young people arriving.”
The road to recovery for the seriously wounded is likely to be long and difficult, he warned.
“For those with severe burns, intensive care lasts several months,” he said.
“But it's not without hope,” he added. “They are young, which means they still have a lot of vitality.”
Daniele Hamamjian reported from Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Elmira Aliyeva and Alexander Smith reported from London.
