Overview
- Forty people were killed and about 114–116 were injured, most of them teenagers and young adults, in the New Year’s Eve blaze at Le Constellation.
- Owner Jacques Moretti told investigators a basement door was locked from the inside; he said he forced it open from outside and found several bodies behind it.
- He also acknowledged replacing the ceiling’s acoustic foam with hardware‑store material, as investigators examine evidence that party fountains likely ignited the flammable covering.
- Moretti is in pre‑trial detention on suspicion of negligent homicide, negligent arson and negligent bodily harm, and prosecutors say charges could be upgraded if acceptance of the exit risk is proven; co‑owner Jessica Moretti was questioned and remains free.
- Authorities are probing why required fire inspections apparently stopped after 2019, and legal experts say a newly added Valais building‑law clause could limit municipal liability even as reports differ on whether the blocked door was a marked emergency exit or a service door.