Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini feared dead
Several media outlets have named Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini, 17, as the first identified victim of the fire following a statement from the Italian Golf Federation.
Around 40 people have died and 115 people are injured as a result of a fire in a bar in a ski resort in south-west Switzerland, police say.
A teenage golfer from Italy is the first victim to be named by media, though not officially.
It is likely the bar, Le Constellation in the resort of Crans-Montana, was full of Swiss people and tourists celebrating New Year’s Day in the early hours of Thursday when the blaze began.
Tragedy hit the area on New Year’s Eve night
Tragedy hit the area on New Year’s Eve night
Investigators are working to identify the victims of a fire that tore through a bar in the Swiss town of Crans-Montana, turning a New Year’s celebration into one of the country’s worst tragedies.
The Italian Golf Federation said 16-year-old Emanuele Galeppini, an international golfer from Italy who had been living in Dubai, was the first of several possible victims from the blaze.
Emanuele had been in Crans-Montana with his family. Italian media reported that he had gone to Le Constellation bar with two friends. They managed to escape the fire and were taken to nearby hospitals.
“The Italian Golf Federation mourns the passing of Emanuele Galeppini, a young athlete who carried with him passion and genuine values,” the federation said in a statement.
It is not yet clear what set off the blaze at Le Constellation. Swiss officials have said 40 people were killed and at least 119 people were injured in the blaze, many of them seriously.
“I have been searching for my son for 30 hours. The wait is unbearable,” Laetitia, the mother of missing 16-year-old Arthur, told BFM TV, saying she was desperate to know if he was alive or dead, and where.
“If he’s in the hospital, I don’t know which hospital he’s in. If he’s in the morgue, I don’t know which morgue he’s in. If my son is alive, he’s alone in the hospital, and I can’t be by his side,” she said.
Authorities have warned that naming the victims or establishing a definitive death toll would take time because many of the bodies were badly burned.
An infographic titled “Explosion, fire at Swiss ski resort bar”
Several of those seriously injured were receiving care in hospitals in neighbouring countries, including France and Germany.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland stood ready to help and, at Switzerland’s request, could admit 14 injured people to Polish hospitals for specialist medical treatement.
“All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” said Mathias Reynard, head of government of the canton of Valais. Experts were using dental and DNA samples to identify the victims, he said.
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.
Authorities have declined to speculate on what caused the fire, saying only that it was not an attack.
A hearse arrives at the funeral home in Sion
A hearse arrives at a funeral home in Sion
Several witness accounts, broadcast by Swiss, French and Italian media, meanwhile pointed to sparklers that were apparently mounted on champagne bottles held aloft by restaurant staff as part of a regular “show” for patrons who made special orders to their tables.
There were “waitresses with champagne bottles and little sparklers. They got too close to the ceiling, and suddenly it all caught fire”, one witness told the Italian media outlet Local Team.
Pictures and videos shared on social media also showed sparklers on champagne bottles held into the air, as an orange glow began spreading across the ceiling.
One video showed the flames spreading quickly as revellers initially continued to dance, not seeming to grasp the severity of the situation.
Watch: ‘We could have been dead because we decided to go party’
This morning, several hearses began moving the bodies of the victims to a funeral centre in nearby Sion.
Le Constellation had a capacity of 300 people, plus another 40 people on its terrace, according to the Crans-Montana website.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin called the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions”, and announced that flags would be flown at half mast for five days.
He said authorities were “in close contact with the victims’ families, whom we are informing in real time, as well as with the various embassies involved”.
Firefighters gather to leave flowers and candles at the scene at Le Constellation bar
Firefighters gather to leave flowers and candles at the scene at Le Constellation bar
A woman lays flowers at a floral tribute site
Floral tributes are left for the dead
“Given the international nature of the Crans resort, we can expect foreign nationals to be among the victims,” he told reporters.
The flag at the Irish embassy in Berne was flying at half mast today in solidarity with those affected by the tragedy.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said yesterday that the Irish embassy in Switzerland is monitoring the situation and will provide consular assistance when required.
She said that any Irish citizen in need of consular assistance can contact the embassy on +41(0) 313500380 or +353 (0) 14082000.
Watch: Hundreds gather for vigil to remember victims of Swiss fire
The fire broke out around 1.30am (12.30am Irish time) yesterday at Le Constellation, a bar popular with young tourists.
“We thought it was just a small fire – but when we got there, it was war,” Mathys, from neighbouring Chermignon-d’en-Bas said.
“That’s the only word I can use to describe it: the apocalypse. It was terrible.”
“We’ve tried to reach our friends. We took loads of photos and posted them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible social networks to try to find them,” said Eleonore, 17.
“But there’s nothing. No response. Even the parents don’t know,” she added.
Police officers and firefighters set up folding screensa around a building
Emergency services at the scene of the blaze
One young man playfully attempts to extinguish the flames with a large white cloth, but the scene becomes panic-stricken as people scramble and scream in the dark against a backdrop of smoke and flames.
The canton’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said the investigation would look into whether the bar met safety standards and had the required number of exits.
Red and white caution tape, flowers and candles adorned the street where the fire occurred, while police shielded the site with white screens.
After the emergency units at the local hospitals filled up, many of the injured were transported across Switzerland and to neighbouring countries.
The European Union said it has been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance, while French President Emmanuel Macron said some of the injured were being cared for in French hospitals.
Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said earlier that six Italians were missing and 13 were in hospital receiving treatment for their injuries.
The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens figured among the injured, and eight others remained unaccounted for.
Multiple sources said that the bar owners are French nationals: a couple originally from Corsica who, according to a relative, are safe, but have been unreachable since the tragedy.
