Dozens of people feared dead after fire rips through Swiss resort bar during NYE celebrations

“We express our support for all those who were injured, some of them seriously. We also commend the work of the emergency services.”

Swiss authorities confirmed those affected came from multiple countries.

Crans-Montana is in south-western Switzerland and close to the borders of both Italy and France. The Italian foreign ministry said early indications from Swiss police suggested that at least 40 people had died. French authorities said at least two of its nationals had been killed.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney-general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire as experts had not yet been able to get inside the wreckage.

However, authorities had ruled out terrorism as a likely cause. “At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

Officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraught.

That phenomenon would have likely sparked “explosions” reported by witnesses in the hours after the fire.

Valais radio station Rhône FM said New Year’s Eve fireworks were being investigated as a possible cause.

Swiss newspaper TdG quoted one witness from inside the bar as saying fireworks had been placed on bottles in the nightclub, leading to a fire in the ceiling.

The fire spread very quickly, he said, causing panic and a stampede as revellers tried to get out of the building.

The municipality had banned New Year’s Eve fireworks due to a lack of rainfall in the past month, according to its website.

A local doctor told RTS (Swiss radio and television) that many of the injured had severe burns.

Authorities said 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances had been mobilised.

BBC journalist Silvia Costeloe, who was in town at the time of the fire, reported that the bar was a local institution.

“It’s been around for at least 40 years,” she wrote. “It’s a big bar and it’s not posh. But this is quite a posh ski resort, there’s quite a lot of luxury here – it was famous in the 1980s for hosting the World Cup skiing, and that’s coming back.

“You go there for beers – it’s a kind of young bar. It would’ve been a mixture of young people, Swiss people, people coming up from the valleys to celebrate here in Crans-Montana.”

A reception centre and helpline had been set up for impacted families, Lathion said.

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometres north of the Matterhorn and 170 kilometres east of Geneva.

The tragedy comes at a notoriously busy time for Swiss hospitals as the seasonal flu combines with winter holiday accidents to put pressure on the system.

Local media were reporting a call for the public to avoid taking risks on New Year’s Day out of solidarity with the victims and to avoid further burdening hospitals.

Crans-Montana is a popular ski and hiking area that is home to 10,000 residents outside of the peak ski season.

It is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.

In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open February 6.

Crans-Montana also is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountain views.

AP, Reuters