Latest:
- About 40 people were killed and 115 injured in a fire in Switzerland.
- Most injuries are serious.
- The fire occurred at a party at the prestigious ski resort of Crans-Montana.
- The cause of the fire is still unknown, but police have ruled out arson.
- There are so many wounded that the nearby intensive care unit and operating room of the regional hospital are operating at full capacity.
- Global Affairs Canada says it is not aware of any Canadians affected.
About 40 people were killed and another 115 injured, most of them seriously, after a fire engulfed a crowded bar during a New Year's Eve party at the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, officials told reporters during a news conference on Thursday.
Authorities did not immediately have an exact death toll.
The cause of the fire, which was initially reported as an explosion, remains unclear, but authorities said it was an accident and not an attack.
“People were screaming and then people were lying on the ground, probably dead,” said Samuel Rapp, 21, who saw the aftermath of the fire. “They had jackets over their faces – well, that’s what I saw, nothing more.”
Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families, but “it will take time and at the moment it is premature to give a more precise figure,” Valais cantonal police chief Frederic Giesler said during an earlier news conference.
The victims could not be immediately identified due to the severity of the burns, officials previously said.
Police earlier said many people were being treated for burns. The intensive care unit at the Valais hospital was overcrowded and patients were being transferred elsewhere, said Matthias Reynard, head of the cantonal government.
The affected community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometers north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous alpine peaks, and 130 kilometers south of Zurich.
Some of the victims came from other countries, he said. Stephen Ganzer, head of the security service of the canton of Valais. Authorities said 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances had been mobilized.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that 16 Italians were missing and about a dozen more were being treated for injuries.
The fire broke out at 1:30 a.m. local time at Le Constellation, a bar popular with teenagers in Crans-Montana, where police, fire brigade and rescue services were deployed to help victims.
Dominic Dubois was heading to a bar with a friend when he saw the flames.
“You could see the orange color. Orange, yellow, red,” DuBois said, adding that there were “many, many bloody scenes.”
He told Reuters several people outside the bar helped pull the bodies to safety and nearby businesses opened to provide support.
“The main problem was temperature shock from the heat inside and the cold outside. So one of the priorities was to keep everyone warm,” DuBois said. “What I'm saying is that the curtains in the restaurant were used.”
DuBois also noted how brave many of the victims were as the tragedy unfolded.
“There were many who were very strong, who stayed strong and who knew their lives were in grave danger but decided it was morally more important to remain calm,” he said.
The reason is still unknown
On Thursday morning, hours after the fire, footage from the street showed the area cordoned off and forensic tents set up behind white screens in front of the bar. It was in stark contrast to the panic and confusion that officials said encountered first responders who arrived when the alarm was raised.
“First responders – firefighters and police officers – arrived at a scene of chaos, a dramatic scene, a complex operational theatre,” Ganzer told reporters.
The area was completely closed and a no-fly zone was imposed over Crans-Montana, where next year's alpine skiing world championships will take place, police said in an earlier statement.
Dominique Dubois spoke to a Reuters journalist about the aftermath of a deadly fire in the Swiss resort town of Crans-Montana. Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire that engulfed the bar during New Year's celebrations but said it does not appear to be an attack.
The Italian ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, told Sky TG24 that local authorities told him the fire started when someone set off fireworks inside the bar, which set the ceiling on fire.
Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that they were inside when they saw the bartender carrying the barmaid on his shoulders. The barmaid held a lit candle in a bottle, which set the wooden ceiling on fire. The flames quickly spread and collapsed the ceiling, they told the television station.
Witnesses describe the aftermath
One of the women described the influx of crowds as people desperately tried to escape from the basement nightclub, up the narrow stairs and through the narrow door.
It was not immediately possible to verify their account from other sources. Video footage reviewed by Reuters showed flames spreading from the building as people outside the club ran and screamed.
Another witness who spoke to BFMTV described how people broke windows to escape the fire, some seriously injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to check if their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people trying to get out of the smoke and flames and compared what he saw to a horror movie he was watching from across the street.
Officials described how the fire likely released flammable gases that ignited violently and caused what English-speaking firefighters call a flashover or backdraft.
“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and unity, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Renard, head of the regional government.
Swiss officials, including police and the president, spoke Thursday after a deadly fire overnight at a resort bar reportedly killed about 40 people and left many more seriously injured.
According to Renard, there were so many wounded that the intensive care unit and operating room of the regional hospital quickly filled to capacity.
In a statement Thursday, Global Affairs Canada said it was not aware of any Canadian citizens affected by the incident.
Prime Minister Mark Carney called the fire a “devastating tragedy” and said his thoughts “are with those who died or were injured, their loved ones, first responders and the entire community who are supporting each other through this unimaginable loss.”
