Overview
- Police in Valais report roughly 40 fatalities and 119 injuries, many critical, after a basement disco filled with smoke left people trapped.
- The head of the canton says about 50 burn patients will be moved to specialized centers across the EU, with France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Romania offering capacity.
- Prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud says indoor “fountain” fireworks ignited ceiling materials, and investigators are reviewing the legality of the pyrotechnics and the ceiling installation.
- Authorities are identifying victims through DNA, dental records and other forensic methods, and they have not yet released a full nationality breakdown for the dead.
- Italy’s foreign minister says six citizens remain missing, while a 16-year-old Italian golfer was confirmed among the dead and a 19-year-old Metz footballer was flown to Germany for burns treatment.