Investigators working to identify victims as around 40 killed in Swiss ski resort fire

LAST UPDATE | 1 hr ago

INVESTIGATORS ARE WORKING to identify the victims of a fire that ripped through a bar in the Swiss Alps town of Crans-Montana, turning a New Year’s celebration into one of the country’s worst tragedies.

Around 40 people were killed and around 115 others were injured in the fire at Le Constellation, a bar popular with young tourists, at around 1.30am (12.30am Irish time) on Thursday.

It is not yet clear what set off the blaze, though witness accounts reported by Swiss, French and Italian media have pointed to sparklers apparently mounted on champagne bottles and held up by restaurant staff as part of a regular “show” for patrons who made special orders to their tables. 

There were “waitresses with champagne bottles and little sparklers. They got too close to the ceiling, and suddenly it all caught fire”, Axel, a witness, told the Italian media outlet Local Team.

Bystanders described scenes of panic and chaos as people tried to break the windows to escape and others, covered in burns, poured into the street.

Swiss police have warned it could take days or even weeks to identify everyone who died, an agonising wait for family and friends.

“We’ve tried to reach our friends. We took loads of photos and posted them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible social networks to try to find them,” said 17-year-old Eleonore. “But there’s nothing. No response. Even the parents don’t know.”

The exact number of people who were at the bar when it went up in flames remains unclear, and police have not specified how many are still missing.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said yesterday that her department is not aware of any Irish citizens who have been impacted directly at this stage. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it stands ready to provide consular assistance. Any Irish citizen in need of consular assistance can contact the Irish embassy in Switzerland on +41(0) 313500380 or +353 (0) 14082000.

Le Constellation had a capacity of 300 people, plus another 40 people on its terrace, according to the Crans-Montana website.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who took over in the role on Thursday, called the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions”, and announced that flags would be flown at half mast for five days.

Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, completely interrupted, or forever changed.

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“Given the international nature of the Crans resort, we can expect foreign nationals to be among the victims,” local police commander Frederic Gisler said.

‘The apocalypse’

More than 30 victims were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne, and six were taken to Geneva, according to a Swiss news agency.

As of yet, there is no official estimate of the missing or headcount from Le Constellation bar when the fire broke out.

“We thought it was just a small fire, but when we got there, it was war,” Mathys, from neighbouring Chermignon-d’en-Bas, told AFP.

“That’s the only word I can use to describe it: the apocalypse.”

Nathan, who was in the bar before the blaze, saw burned people streaming out of the site. “They were asking for help, crying out for help,” he said.

Authorities have declined to speculate on what caused the tragedy, saying only that it was not an attack.

The canton’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud said investigators would look into whether the bar met safety standards and had the required number of exits.

Red and white caution tape, flowers and candles adorned the street where the tragedy occurred, while police shielded the site with white screens.

The EU said it has been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance, while French President Emmanuel Macron said some of the injured were being cared for in French hospitals.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Italian broadcaster Rete 4 that around 15 Italians had been injured in the fire, and a similar number remained missing.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens figured among the injured, and eight others remained unaccounted for.

Multiple sources told AFP that the bar owners are French nationals: a couple originally from Corsica who, according to a relative, are safe, but have been unreachable since the tragedy.

With reporting from © AFP 2026 

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