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Bar Owner Held in Pretrial Detention as Switzerland Mourns Crans-Montana Fire Victims

Prosecutors cite a flight risk in a negligence case examining flammable ceiling foam, past renovations and the lapse in safety inspections.

Overview

  • After a lengthy hearing in Sion, owner Jacques Moretti was remanded in pretrial detention, while his wife Jessica was released.
  • Valais authorities are pursuing an instruction for homicide by negligence, bodily injury by negligence and fire by negligence, with detention justified by a concrete risk of flight.
  • Investigators are probing whether fountain-style sparklers ignited insulating acoustic foam on the basement ceiling and are reviewing 2015 works, escape routes, extinguishers and the absence of official checks since 2019.
  • Archived footage from 2019 showing staff warning about the foam’s fire risk is being weighed to assess possible prior awareness of the hazard.
  • A national tribute in Martigny featured a countrywide minute of silence and attendance by Emmanuel Macron and Sergio Mattarella, as families grieve 40 dead and 116 injured and dozens remain hospitalized in Swiss and neighboring burn units.