🔗 Share this article

Survivors of the devastating nightclub blaze in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in special burns units across Europe, while authorities say many of the deceased were so badly burned that naming the victims could take an extended period.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the inferno ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

“The first objective is to put names to all the victims,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was exceptionally difficult. Parents of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and diplomatic missions worked urgently to determine if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so distressing and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he said.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

A significant number of the injured were flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had offered his country’s assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but another nation has put the death toll at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “surprised” by the higher number. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a radio station.

The Italian ambassador said all but five of the injured had now been named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Some victims were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and eight others remained unaccounted for. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using online platforms to circulate photos of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was really in shock,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend managed to get news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and moved to the surgery or to intensive care units,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even many months.”