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Crans-Montana Fire Investigation Widens to Pyrotechnics Cache, Safety Lapses, Owners' Finances

New evidence centers the probe on indoor pyrotechnics in a hazardous space.

Overview

  • Authorities confirm 40 dead and about 116 injured, with the Wallis cantonal council approving CHF 10,000 for bereaved families and hospitalized survivors.
  • Investigators documented dozens of spent fire fountains, illegal ground fireworks and roughly 100 additional devices, as operators acknowledged using bottle-mounted pyrotechnics during champagne service.
  • Bar owner Jacques Moretti remains in pre-trial detention, and his wife Jessica was ordered to surrender her documents and remain in Switzerland.
  • Survivor and police accounts describe a single narrow stairway, a locked entrance and people breaking windows during a chaotic escape.
  • Scrutiny now targets a 2019 inspection that omitted the flammable foam ceiling and the couple’s opaque financing, with Roberto Saviano alleging money‑laundering links, as reports also cite a 2016 Swiss conviction for illegal employment.