Overview
- New reconstructions indicate most of the 40 victims died in a crush on a narrowed stairway, with about 34 bodies found at the foot of the stairs.
- The staircase was reportedly reduced in 2015 from roughly three meters to about 1.37 meters, creating a deadly bottleneck during the evacuation.
- Video and the operator’s admission indicate the emergency-exit sign was not lit and the exit door was locked during the incident.
- Owner Jacques Moretti is in pretrial detention on accusations including negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent causing of a fire, while his wife is also accused.
- Prosecutors are probing the municipality’s lapse in safety inspections, and investigators are reviewing the layout including a smaller back room known as Le Clandestin whose role remains unclear.