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Crans-Montana Bar Fire Kills About 40, Injures 115 During New Year’s Celebrations

Authorities now focus on an accidental flashover as the likely cause, with identifications expected to take days.

Overview

  • Police report a provisional toll of around forty dead and roughly 115 wounded, with many patients in critical condition.
  • Investigators have opened a judicial inquiry, excluded a terrorist attack, and are prioritizing a rapid fire scenario described as an accidental flashover.
  • Witness accounts point to bottle sparklers or similar pyrotechnic devices touching the ceiling and igniting a fast-spreading blaze inside Le Constellation.
  • A large rescue operation deployed ten helicopters and about 40 ambulances, and hospitals transferred patients to Sion, Lausanne, Geneva, Zurich, as well as to facilities in France and Italy.
  • Foreign nationals are among the victims, with France reporting nine injured and eight unlocated and Italy citing about fifteen injured and a similar number missing, while a crisis center and help line support families as flags fly at half-staff nationwide for five days.