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Crans-Montana Bar Inferno Leaves About 40 Dead, 115 Injured on New Year’s Night

Investigators now favor an accidental, fast-spreading fire with a resulting blast.

Overview

  • Authorities say identification will take days, with a crisis center and hotline for families and federal flags lowered for five days.
  • Prosecutors have ruled out an attack, stating the observed deflagration followed the blaze that erupted around 1:30 a.m. local time.
  • Witness accounts and early media reporting point to bottle sparklers igniting ceiling material, which investigators are examining.
  • Roughly 115 people were wounded as hospitals activated disaster plans and transferred patients to Lausanne, Geneva, Zurich and to facilities in France and Italy.
  • Consular updates report nine French and about fifteen Italians among the injured, with several nationals still unlocated as international assistance continues.