Dozens feared dead, hundreds injured after 'nightmare' blaze in Swiss ski resort bar on New Year's Eve

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Dozens of people ar feared to feature been killed and 100 others injured after a fire tore through a crowded bar during a New Year's Eve party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, Swiss police said on Thursday.

Swiss police say they believe about 40 people died, according to a statement from the Italian Foreign Ministry. Victims couldn't be immediately identified due to the severity of their burns, and officials say some burns are so severe that identification may take considerable time.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but "that will take time, and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure," said Valais canton police commander Frédéric Gisler during a news conference.

"Several tens of people" were presumed killed at the bar, Gisler said, adding that the community is "devastated."

Police had earlier said many people were being treated for burns. Most of those injured were in a serious condition, said Mathias Reynard, head of the cantonal government. Valais hospital intensive care unit was full, and patients were being transferred elsewhere, he said.

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometres north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometres south of Zurich.

Some of the victims are from other countries, said Stéphane Ganzer, head of security for the Valais canton. Authorities said 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances had been mobilized.

The fire broke out at 1:30 a.m. Local time in a bar called Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, where police, the fire brigade and rescue services were deployed to help victims.

Dominic Dubois was on his way to a bar with a friend when he saw the blaze.

"You could see the orange. The orange, yellow, red," Dubois said, adding there were "many, many gory scenes."

He told Reuters multiple people outside of the bar were helping pull bodies to safety, while nearby businesses opened to provide support.

"The main problem was the temperature shock from the heat inside to the cold outside. So, one of the priorities was to get everyone warm," Dubois said. "I'm talking the curtains of the restaurant were used."

Dubois also noted how brave many of the victims were while the tragedy was unfolding.

"There were many who were very strong, who stayed strong and who understood that their life was in grave danger, but decided that mentally it was more important to stay calm," he said.

On Thursday morning, hours after the explosion, footage from the street outside showed the area cordoned off, with forensic tents behind white screens set up in front of the bar. It was a stark contrast to the panic and confusion that officials said faced first responders who arrived when the alarm was raised.

"The first responders — the firefighters and police officers — arrived at a scene of chaos, at a dramatic scene, in a complicated operations theater," Ganzer told reporters.

More than 100 people were in the bar at the time of the explosion, a police spokesperson said.

The area has been completely closed off, and a no-fly zone has been imposed over Crans-Montana, police said earlier in a statement, adding that the cause of the blast remained unclear.

The explosion was being considered a fire and not an attack, prosecutor Béatrice Pilloud said. The Italian Foreign Ministry said later the blaze was not thought to be caused by arson.

"At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack," Pilloud said.

Italy's ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, told Sky TG24 that local authorities told him the blaze was started by someone letting off a firework inside the bar which set fire to the ceiling.

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that they were inside when they saw a barman carrying a barmaid on his shoulders. The barmaid was holding a lit candle in a bottle that set fire to the wooden ceiling. The flames quickly spread and collapsed the ceiling, they told the broadcaster.

One of the women described a crowd surge as people frantically tried to escape from a basement nightclub up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.

It was not immediately possible to verify their account from other sources. Video footage, verified by Reuters, showed fire spreading from the building with people outside the club, some running and screaming.

Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.

Officials described how the blaze likely triggered the release of combustible gases that ignited violently and caused what English-speaking firefighters call a flashover or backdraft.

"This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare," said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.

The Canadian Embassy in Switzerland offered condolences following the blaze.

"On behalf of all Canadians, we extend our sympathies to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in Crans-Montana, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured," said an embassy post on X.

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