Swiss authorities say sparklers might have caused deadly bar fire

by · UPI

Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Swiss authorities said Friday that revelers' sparklers might have ignited a New Year's blaze that tore through a bar at the Crans-Montana ski resort and killed 40.

Investigators are looking into the use of sparklers by partygoers, who might have set the ceiling on fire after attaching them to bottles and holding them aloft.

A photo shows bar patrons lifting the bottles and sparklers as flames spread along the bar's low ceiling.

"We currently assume that the fire was caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling," Valais Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud told media on Friday.

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Investigators said they are looking at several possible causes.

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, 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.

Rescuers continued the search Friday for victims of a deadly blaze, which also 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, Italy; 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 were thought to be young and were unlikely to have dental implants, pacemakers or other traceable devices.

The lack of such identifiers requires authorities 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 septicemia.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said six Italian nationals were missing and 13 others were in the hospital undergoing treatment, with three with severe injuries due to be evacuated 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.

On Friday, a steady stream of mourners left flowers and messages at a nearby makeshift shrine erected the previous evening for a candle-lit vigil attended by hundreds 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 flags will fly at half staff.

"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.

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