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Agence France-Presse

All 40 people who perished in a New Year’s fire at a Swiss ski resort bar were identified on Sunday, with half of them under the age of 18.
A heavy pall of grief hung over Crans-Montana as more than a thousand mourners walked in silence through the resort to remember those killed and injured in the tragic blaze at the Le Constellation bar.
After days of agonising uncertainty for loved ones, local police on Sunday finished identifying the fire’s 40 fatalities. Their ages ranged from 39 to two who were aged just 14.
Police said the victims included 21 Swiss nationals, nine French nationals including one Franco-Swiss and one triple national of France, Israel and Britain, six Italians including one Italian-Emirati, one Belgian woman, one Portuguese woman, one Romanian man and one Turkish man.

The bar’s owners are under criminal investigation.
A mass dedicated to the victims was held at a small chapel some 300 metres down the road from the gutted bar, outside which well-wishers have left an abundance of flowers, candles and messages of sympathy.
Jean-Marie Lovey, the Bishop of Sion in southwest Switzerland, told the packed chapel it was “unbearable for so many families to remain in the darkness of suffering and death”, his voice breaking.
“Many of the victims were apprentices, high school students, and university students,” said Pastor Gilles Cavin, representing the Protestant Reformed Church of Switzerland.
“In the face of the unspeakable, in the face of the brutality of death and suffering, we refuse to look away. We are here to express our compassion, our solidarity.”
In the square outside, several hundred people stood in freezing temperatures, following the service on a giant screen.

After the mass, sympathisers slowly and silently walked together towards Le Constellation and the makeshift memorial outside.
A wave of applause suddenly broke out from the back of the crowd, which parted as rescuers and emergency service workers walked through, many of whom were visibly overcome with the spontaneous outpouring of gratitude.
Gina, from a neighbouring village, said she attended out of solidarity and joined in the applause.
“Their task must have been dreadful. They were devastated. Now, they’re scarred for life; that’s clear,” she said.
By the flowers and candles, the crowd joined in singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.
“When we were listening to the singing it just brings a wave of emotion,” Beverley, 58, a British national who lives near Lausanne said.

“It must be so, so difficult for the families who are still waiting. It must be very painful for them.”
A church minister had to walk away, having broken down in tears.
“It’s too hard. Too much suffering,” he said, his voice fading.
Regarding the likely cause of the fire, authorities have pointed the finger at sparklers attached to champagne bottles igniting soundproofing foam on the ceiling.
“Initial witness statements describe a fire that spread rapidly, generating a large amount of smoke and intense heat,” the Wallis cantonal public prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Sunday.
French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti owned and managed Le Constellation, which was crammed with young party-goers when the blaze began in a packed basement at around 1.30am on Thursday.
A criminal investigation has been opened against the pair. They are charged with manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
Wallis prosecutors said the investigation was continuing “in order to determine any other potential criminal liability and the exact circumstances of this fire”.
Video footage which has emerged from the tragedy shows young people desperately trying to flee the scene, some breaking windows to try to force their way out.
Switzerland has declared a national day of mourning for January 9, with all church bells poised to toll at 2pm. A moment of silence is also planned.
During his address at St Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope Leo voiced his “closeness to those who are grieving” the disaster.
“I assure you of my prayers for the young people who died, for the injured, and for their families,” he said.


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Switzerland

Swiss grieve as all 40 bar fire victims identified - many of them under 18

People gather during a memorial procession in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Sunday. Photo: AP

Mourners gather around flowers in Crans-Montana. Photo: EPA

The entrance of the Le Constellation bar and lounge. Photo: EPA

A tribute at a makeshift memorial outside the bar. Photo: Reuters

Swiss ski resort bar inferno joins long list of world’s worst club fires

The Mountain B pub in Thailand after it was ravaged by fire in 2022. Photo: AP

A hearse and police officers outside Le Constellation bar and lounge in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Photo: Keystone via AP

The aftermath of a 2025 nightclub fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia. Photo: AP

A warehouse in Oakland, California where 36 people died in a fire in 2016. Photo: Reuters

The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, where a fire killed 100 people in 2003. Photo: AP

Swiss investigators rush to identify victims of New Year’s fire

People comfort each other outside Le Constellation bar on Friday, a day, after a fire and explosion killed dozens of people in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Photo: Reuters

Fire breaks out in bar at Crans-Montana ski resort, Switzerland, early Thursday. Photo: XTyroneking36852

A Swiss flag flies at half-staff at the Federal Palace in Bern, Switzerland on Friday. Photo: EPA

People bring flowers and candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar on Friday. Photo: AP

Owner of Swiss bar where New Year fire killed 40 insists safety norms were followed

People light candles near the sealed Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland on Friday where a devastating fire left 40 dead and dozens injured during the New Year celebrations. Photo; AP

The entrance of the bar Le Constellation where a fire ripped through the venue during New Year’s Eve celebrations in the Alpine ski resort town of Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Photo: AFP

Managers of Swiss bar face negligence probe after fatal New Year’s Eve fire that killed 40

The entrance to Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, a day after a New Year’s fire swept through the venue. Photo: AFP

A fire in a bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Photo: X/Tyroneking36852

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Hundreds march in silence to honour victims of the New Year’s Swiss bar fire who were as young as 14


Hundreds march in silence to honour victims of the New Year’s Swiss bar fire who were as young as 14.


Swiss grieve as all 40 bar fire victims identified - many of them under 18

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hundreds march in silence to honour victims of the New Year’s Swiss bar fire who were as young as 14

Hundreds march in silence to honour victims of the New Year’s Swiss bar fire who were as young as 14