Overview
- Swiss authorities confirm multiple fatalities and many injured but have not released a definitive toll, while some foreign ministries and media report about 40 dead and around 100 hurt, figures not officially validated.
- The blaze erupted around 1:30 a.m. inside the basement venue Le Constellation, where more than 100 people had gathered, raising the likelihood of foreign victims at the international ski resort.
- Investigators have opened a judicial inquiry and, for now, rule out a terror motive; fireworks or other pyrotechnics are a leading line of inquiry after a local holiday fireworks ban due to dry conditions.
- A large emergency operation deployed ambulances and helicopters, with patients transferred to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva and Zürich; regional officials said critical-care capacity was quickly stretched.
- Police sealed off the area and imposed a temporary no-fly zone, set up reception centers and a hotline for families, and began forensic identification of victims.