Around 40 killed and 115 injured in New Year’s Eve bar blaze at Swiss ski resort

This article contains details some readers may find distressing. About 40 people were killed and 115 injured when a fire tore through the Constellation Bar during a New Year's Eve party at the upmarket Crans‑Montana ski resort. The blaze broke out at roughly 1.30am local time in the basement bar.

Emergency services arrived within minutes but dozens were already trapped. Most of the victims are thought to be young. Authorities say identification will take several days because many bodies suffered severe burns; experts are using dental and DNA records. The cause of the fire remains unclear.

Some witnesses reported seeing sparklers or candles in bottles in the basement, but the Valais Canton attorney general said it was too early to determine a cause and experts have not yet been able to enter the charred wreckage. Witnesses described chaotic scenes of people scrambling to escape, some walking on others, smashing windows, and suffering burned hair and clothing.

Video showed flames rapidly spreading across the ceiling and burning material falling from it as partygoers tried to flee. Ambulances and helicopters took the injured to nearby hospitals. Some were treated locally, others were flown to specialist centres including the University Hospital of Lausanne, and some were taken to France.

Key Topics

World, France, Switzerland, Fire, Ski Resort, New Year, Crans-montana