Swiss bar blaze: Authorities warn it may take weeks to ID victims
by Paul Godfrey · UPIJan. 2 (UPI) -- Rescuers in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana were continuing the search Friday for victims of a deadly blaze in a bar that killed at least 40 revellers early New Year's Day and injured 115, many of them in critical condition with severe burns.
More than a dozen helicopters and 42 ambulances rushed victims to hospitals with special burns units as far away as Milan, Germany and France, as authorities warned it could take days or weeks to identify those killed after fire ripped through the Constellation Bar.
"We are painfully aware that identifying the bodies, as well as the injured, may still take a terribly long time for the families involved," said Valais region Gov. Mathias Reynard.
The identification process was being hampered by numerous factors, including that most of the victims are thought to be young and were unlikely to have dental implants, pacemakers or other traceable devices, meaning authorities would have to depend on DNA matching with relatives which would be further complicated by victims coming from all over the world.
Geneva University Hospitals' head of emergency medicine, Dr. Robert Larribau, told BBC Radio that patients they were treating had sustained severe third-degree burns, some with "internal" burns, after inhaling smoke.
He said some patients were "very young -- between 15 and 25 years old."
Swiss officials warned the death toll was expected to rise.
Head of security in the southern Valais region, Stephane Ganzer, said that people with third-degree burns over 15% of their body were at heightened risk of dying in the coming hours and days, due to septicaemia.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said six Italian nationals are currently missing and 13 others were in the hospital undergoing treatment, with three with severe injuries due to be evacutated to back to Italy imminently.
The Italian Golf Federation named 17-year-old Emanuele Galeppini from Genoa as the first identified victim.
The Italian Golf Federation mourns the passing of Emanuele Galeppini, a young athlete who carried with him passion and authentic values. In this moment of great sorrow, our thoughts go to his family and to all those who loved him," the federation said in a post on X.
Among those airlifted were French soccer player Tahirys Dos Santos, a member of Metz FC's youth team, who was being treated at a hospital in Germany.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation, but several witness accounts blamed "flares" or "candles" on top of champagne bottles being delivered to tables in the basement area of the bar, which set the ceiling alight, rapidly leading to a rapidly-spreading "flashover" type fire.
Survivors also reported problems escaping from the bar, particularly via a narrow flight of stairs up from the basement section, while others were only able to get out by smashing windows.
Witnesses walking in the street or staying nearby reported hearing a series of explosions.
Officials have thus far declined to comment on the possible cause.
On Friday, a steady stream of mouners left flowers and messages at a nearby makeshift shrine erected the previous evening for a candle-lit vigil attended by jhundreds of locals, tourists, emergency personnel and officials.
Calling it one of the country's worst ever tragedies, Swiss President Guy Parmelin declared five days of national mourning during which fllags willl fly at half malf.
"It was a drama of an unknown scale," said Parmelin, paying tribute to the young victims whose "projects, hopes and dreams" had been taken away from them, pledging the country would never allow it to happen again.
Resort owner U.S.-based Vail Resorts issued a message of sympathy to victims and families, saying it was "deeply saddened."
The company, which, according to its website, also owns the Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis ski area 70 miles northeast of Crans-Montana, has no connection to the Constellation Bar, which opened in 2015.