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First victim of fire named
The first victim of a fire that tore through a crowded bar in Switzerland has been named as a talented young Italian golfer, Emanuele Galeppini.
In a post on its website, the Italian Golf Federation paid tribute to a “young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values”. While numerous news outlets have shared this news, officials are yet to confirm the names of any victims.
Investigators were on Friday beginning the process to identify victims of the 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.
It is not yet clear what set off the blaze at Le Constellation, killing about 40 people and injuring about 115 others, many seriously – but 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, leaving an agonising wait for family and friends.
Authorities have declined to speculate on what caused the tragedy, saying only that it was not an attack.
Key events
What we know so far
Here is a roundup of everything we know so far about the fire that ripped through the crowded Le Constellation bar in the Swiss Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana:
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A fire that tore through a crowded bar at a New Year’s Eve party in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana has killed about 40 people and injured 115.
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The fire broke out at 1.30am on Thursday in the town’s Le Constellation bar, but it’s not yet clear what set off the blaze. Some witnesses said it started after sparklers or flares were put into champagne bottles.
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Two women told the French broadcaster BFMTV they had been inside when they saw a bartender carrying a female member of staff on his shoulders. She was holding a lit birthday candle on top of a bottle that set fire to the wooden ceiling. The flames spread quickly and caused the ceiling to collapse, they said. The canton’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said she could not comment on reports that lighted candles had caused the inferno.
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Swiss president Guy Parmelin has said the country will hold five days of mourning, describing the blaze as one of the most traumatic events in Switzerland’s history.
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Parmelin – speaking in his first day in the job as Switzerland’s new head of state – said some of those who survived were “severely injured”. They had suffered serious burns, as well as damage to their lungs.
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Swiss police warned it could take days or even weeks to identify everyone who died in the disaster. 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.
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The injured were dispatched to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich, and others transported to neighbouring countries. The European Union said it has been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance, while the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said some of the injured were being cared for in French hospitals.
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Italy’s foreign ministry said 16 of its nationals were missing and 12 were among the injured. France said eight of its citizens were missing and it could not rule out that French nationals were among the dead. One Australian was among the injured.
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Hundreds gathered in silence in the freezing cold on Thursday evening, laying flowers and lighting candles. Many at the night-time vigil knew people who remain unaccounted for, or were badly injured.
Video apparently shows efforts to extinguish ceiling fire
A video that appears to show an attempt at putting out fire spreading on the ceiling of Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana can be viewed below:
Hundreds of mourners gathered in silence in the freezing night in Crans-Montana on Thursday evening, laying flowers and lighting candles to remember those killed in a blaze as they celebrated the new year.
Our picture desk has created this gallery with some of the photographs of those paying tribute:
First victim of fire named
The first victim of a fire that tore through a crowded bar in Switzerland has been named as a talented young Italian golfer, Emanuele Galeppini.
In a post on its website, the Italian Golf Federation paid tribute to a “young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values”. While numerous news outlets have shared this news, officials are yet to confirm the names of any victims.
Investigators were on Friday beginning the process to identify victims of the 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.
It is not yet clear what set off the blaze at Le Constellation, killing about 40 people and injuring about 115 others, many seriously – but 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, leaving an agonising wait for family and friends.
Authorities have declined to speculate on what caused the tragedy, saying only that it was not an attack.
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