Overview
- Swiss reports name the server — identified by some outlets as 24-year-old French waitress Cyane Panine — as the person seen holding a lit sparkler near the low ceiling moments before the fire.
- The New Year’s blaze at the Crans-Montana cellar bar killed 40 people and injured 116, with about 80 still hospitalized with serious burns, according to recent reports.
- Family lawyers say the young employee followed her employers’ instructions and bears no responsibility, and a wave of social-media criticism targets outlets that singled her out.
- Investigators are probing safety lapses, including reports of easily flammable ceiling foam installed during renovations, which the operator told RTS he replaced with hardware-store material.
- Owner Jacques Moretti is being held in pre-trial detention on suspicion of negligent homicide and injury, as unconfirmed surveillance footage reported by Tg3 suggests a piece of furniture may have stood before a door described as an emergency exit and the owner says a separate service door was found locked from inside.