Valais Canton police commander said “several tens of people” were killed at the bar, adding that the community was “devastated” following the incident. Several dozens of people were killed and about 100 others injured after a fire in a bar in the resort town of Crans-Montana in Switzerland, Swiss police said on Thursday. The incident took place at around 1.30 am (local time) while New Year’s celebrations were underway. Valais Canton police commander Frederic Gisler said “several tens of people” were killed at the bar, named Le Constellation, adding that the community was “devastated” following the incident.
According to eyewitnesses near the site of the incident, pyrotechnics might be the trigger for the massive blaze in the bar. Melko (19), one of the people near the bar, recounted the moments which led up to the tragedy. The eyewitness told local Swiss media outlet 24 heures that he had visited the bar with a friend, and claimed that he had seen pyrotechnic devices placed on bottles ordered from the nightclub. These allegedly triggered a fire in the ceiling, which caught the blaze immediately, Melko told the outlet.
This led to scenes of panic, after which a crowd of people rushed towards the exit of the room, which was located in the basement, and was accessible by stairs leading to a corridor. However, Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, has urged that the public “refrain from making assumptions.” “The families are waiting for these answers, but obtaining them will take time,” Pilloud told 24 heures.
Pilloud said that it was too early to determine the cause of the fire because experts had not been able to go inside the wreckage. The attorney general further said that work was underway to identify the victims and inform their families, adding that it would take time and it would be “premature” to give a “precise figure” at this time. “
