A catastrophic fire tore through a packed bar in the Swiss Alps shortly after the start of the new year, killing at least 47 people and leaving 115 others seriously injured, authorities said Thursday. Officials warned the toll could climb as many victims remain in critical condition, with local police confirming that many of the victims are expected to be identified as foreign nationals. Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, who has been in regular contact with Swiss authorities, said that the confirmed death toll was 47 – with the youngest victim a 16-year-old who is being treated in a hospital.
The blaze erupted around 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day at Le Constellation, a popular nightlife spot in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, in the canton of Valais. Police described the incident as an “unprecedented tragedy,” with emergency crews confronting scenes of chaos inside the crowded venue.
Valais cantonal police commander Frédéric Gisler said the immediate focus is on identifying those who died. Many of the victims were young people, Swiss President Guy Parmelin said, and they include both local residents and tourists from neighboring countries and beyond: “Behind these numbers are faces, names, families, destinies brutally interrupted,” Parmelin said, calling the fire one of the gravest disasters Switzerland has faced in recent years.
Investigators have launched a criminal probe to determine how the fire started, though officials stressed there is no suspicion of terrorism. Valais canton attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said an explosion was not believed to be the initial cause, though authorities think a widespread fire may have triggered a blast-like event inside the building. “At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.
Witness accounts suggest the fire spread with alarming speed. Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris who survived, told The Associated Press he saw waitresses carrying Champagne bottles with sparklers moments before flames engulfed the bar. One of his friends was killed and “two or three were missing,” he said. “I’m still in shock.” Other witnesses described people trapped in a basement area, scrambling up narrow stairs as smoke filled the space. Some smashed windows to escape, while others collapsed inside. A local journalist dining nearby said he saw people lying motionless on the floor as others screamed and tried to flee.
Firefighters and paramedics arrived within minutes, launching what officials called a massive rescue operation. By early morning, all injured victims had been evacuated to hospitals across Switzerland, and some burn patients were expected to be transferred abroad because local facilities were overwhelmed. A temporary no-fly zone was imposed over Crans-Montana to allow medical helicopters to operate freely, and authorities also opened a reception center and hotline to assist families searching for loved ones. Several victims could not be immediately identified due to the severity of their injuries, officials said.
Parmelin, who began his term as Switzerland’s rotating president on Thursday, said that the fire was “one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced.” Parmelin announced that flags would fly at half-staff nationwide for five days. He also postponed a traditional New Year’s address out of respect for the victims’ families, writing that what should have been a celebration had become a moment of national mourning.
Local officials urged residents and visitors to exercise caution in the coming days, noting that medical services remain stretched thin in the busy ski region. Crans-Montana, located about 25 miles north of the Matterhorn, is scheduled to host an international Alpine Ski World Cup event later this month, though authorities said their immediate priority remains responding to the disaster and supporting those affected. Mathias Reynard, president of the Valais state council, said “this evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare.”
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