Death Toll Rises to 47 in Crans-Montana Bar Fire as First Victim Is Identified

Overview

• Authorities say identifying the dead will take days or weeks given the number of young, international visitors caught in the New Year’s blaze.
• Witnesses reported candles or small pyrotechnics on champagne bottles that may have ignited a wooden ceiling and triggered the rapid spread.
• A fire-behavior specialist said a flashover could explain how the venue became engulfed within seconds.
• At least 115 people were injured, and a large rescue operation deployed 13 helicopters and 42 ambulances, with transfers to hospitals in Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany.
• FC Metz’s 19-year-old Tahirys Dos Santos suffered severe burns and was airlifted to a German burn center, where he remains hospitalized.