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The accident caused about 40 deaths and 115 injuries fire tore one New Year’s Eve Bar in popular switzerland ski resort.
A fire at Le Constellation bar in the Alpine resort of Crans-Montana has been described as one of Switzerland’s “worst tragedies”.
Police said the bar was engulfed in flames at around 1.30am on Thursday as “mostly young people” had gathered to celebrate the New Year.
A man at the scene said People smashed windows to escape firesome were seriously injured. He said he saw about 20 people scrambling to escape the smoke and flames and it was like a “horror movie”.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but officials have ruled out an attack.
one Video in the bar Showing the start of the fire, the ceiling is on fire.
At a press conference on Thursday night, Justice Minister Beatrice Piloud was asked to respond to rumors that a champagne bottle containing a flare may have been the cause of the fire, but she said she could not confirm anything while the investigation was ongoing.
State Councilor Stephan Ganzer said the fire produced a “conflagration” – a rapidly spreading conflagration similar to a flashover – and not an explosion as earlier reports had suggested.
Witnesses said the crowd swelled as people at the bar frantically tried to escape the basement nightclub by climbing up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.
At a press conference on Thursday, Justice Minister Beatrice Piloud was asked whether the staircase was “very narrow” and said investigators would assess whether it complied with requirements.
A total of 42 ambulances, 13 helicopters and three “disaster relief trucks” rushed to the scene, and witnesses said the injured were being treated at a nearby bar and a temporary triage center set up at a UBS branch.
Samuel Rapp, 21, was dining at a Mexican restaurant when he heard news of the fire and rushed to Le Constellation with his girlfriend.
“Police and paramedics … have established protective perimeters,” he said. “There were people screaming and then there were people lying on the ground, possibly dead. They had jackets over their faces.”
Many of the injured were taken to hospitals across Switzerland. Sixty people are being treated at Sion Hospital, with “a significant number” in critical condition, while Claire Charmet, director of Lausanne University Hospital, confirmed that the hospital was treating 22 people so far.
Ms Chalmer told the Swiss newspaper 24 hours Patients as young as 16 are being treated.
Many people are still waiting for news about missing friends and family.
“I know someone who might be a victim, but I can’t get in touch with her. I’m very concerned,” said local resident Karine Spreng. “I will try to contact anyone else who knew this woman to see if she is still alive.”
Officials said foreigners may have been among the victims. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday that 16 Italians were reported missing and about a dozen other Italian nationals were being treated in hospital.
Swiss authorities said they were working to identify the victims and notify their families, but warned that the process “will take time.”
Swiss President Guy Parmelin visited the scene on Thursday and called the fire “one of the worst tragedies our country has ever experienced.” Mr Parmelin said many of the victims were young people.
He confirmed that flags would be flown at half-mast across the country for five days. Out of respect for the families of the victims, he postponed his traditional New Year’s address to the nation, which was scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday afternoon.
The Foreign Office said staff were ready to assist any British nationals affected by the fires, but it is understood that no requests for consular assistance have been made by any British nationals or their families so far.
Crans-Montana is located in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 25 miles north of the Matterhorn.
Crans-Montana has high-altitude ski slopes about 3,000 meters above sea level. It is one of the winter sports centers in the Valais region of Switzerland, attracting winter sports enthusiasts from all over the world.