Overview
- The fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. at Le Constellation during New Year celebrations, engulfing the two-level venue as several hundred people gathered inside.
- Police report roughly forty presumed dead and about 115 injured, most with severe burns, with some patients transferred to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva, Zurich and into France.
- Valais authorities activated a disaster plan and deployed 10 helicopters, 40 ambulances and about 150 medical responders as intensive-care capacity was saturated.
- Prosecutors opened an inquiry that currently favors an accidental cause and rules out terrorism, with multiple witness accounts suggesting bottle sparkler effects may have ignited the wooden ceiling.
- Foreign nationals are among the victims, at least two French citizens are injured, and a hotline (0848 112 117) and family reception center are assisting families as identification continues.