Overview
- The blaze erupted around 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 1 at Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, killing about 40 people and injuring roughly 115, many of them young and of multiple nationalities.
- Officials described at least one explosion as a flashover, with the event being treated as an accidental fire rather than terrorism.
- Witness accounts point to indoor pyrotechnics or sparklers igniting the ceiling, though prosecutors have not confirmed a cause as the inquiry continues.
- A major response deployed 10–13 helicopters and about 40–42 ambulances, with improvised triage sites set up and burn patients transferred to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva, Zurich and beyond.
- Authorities sealed the site and imposed a no-fly zone as they examine venue safety and escape routes; Switzerland ordered flags at half-staff for five days, and Italy reported 16 nationals missing and about a dozen hospitalized.