Crans-Montana fire: Numerous teenagers among the dead in Swiss bar blaze, police say

ZURICH – Teenagers as young as 14 and 15 years old were among those who died in a bar fire on New Year’s Eve
that killed 40 people in Switzerland, police said on Jan 4, as the Pope offered his sympathies to the victims and their families.

Police in Valais said they identified 16 more of those who died in the blaze in Crans-Montana, one of the worst disasters in recent Swiss history.

The newly identified victims included 10 Swiss nationals, two Italians, one person with Italian-Emirati citizenship, one Romanian, one person from France and one from Turkey, Valais police said. No names were released.

Hundreds of mourners attended a church service in the town on the morning of Jan 4
, where Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey said condolences had poured in from around the world, including from the Pope.

“Countless people join us – people whose hearts are broken,” Bishop Lovey told the service. “Many expressions of sympathy and solidarity reach us.

“Pope Leo XIV joins in our sorrow. In a moving message, he expresses his compassion and his care for the victims’ families and strengthens the courage of all who are suffering.”

More victims identified

The youngest person identified so far is a 14-year-old Swiss girl, while two 15-year-old Swiss girls were also among the dead.

Ten of the other bodies identified on Jan 4 were teenagers aged 16 to 18, police said.

Also identified among the dead were two Swiss men, aged 20 and 31, and a French national aged 39.

In total, police have now identified 24 of those who died in the blaze in the mountain resort.

The mother of a 16-year-old Swiss boy Arthur Brodard confirmed overnight that he was among those killed.

“Now we can start our mourning, knowing he is in peace,” Ms Laetitia Brodard-Sitre said on her Facebook page.

Late on Jan 3, police identified two Swiss women aged 24 and 22
, along with two Swiss men aged 21 and 18.

National day of mourning

Switzerland will hold a national day of mourning on Jan 9, national president Guy Parmelin said on Jan 4, with church bells ringing across the country and a minute’s silence planned.

“In this moment of reflection, everyone in Switzerland can personally remember the victims of the disaster,” Mr Parmelin told newspaper Sonntagsblick.

The fire likely started when “fountain candle” sparklers were held aloft too close to the ceiling at the Constellation bar, the region’s chief prosecutor has said.

Some 119 people were injured, including many with severe burns.

The Swiss government said on Jan 4 that 35 patients have been transferred from hospitals in Switzerland to specialised clinics in Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy.

“Due to the large number of patients with severe burns, the capacities for the best possible long-term treatment in Switzerland are not sufficient. Switzerland has therefore sought international support,” the Federal Office for Civil Protection said.

Foreign nationals and Swiss patients were among those flown abroad, and specialist burns assessment teams from France and Italy have been drafted in to help Swiss hospitals, the office said.

Two people who ran the bar are under criminal investigation
on suspicion of offences including homicide by negligence, prosecutors said on Jan 3. REUTERS