Survivors of the devastating bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in special burns units in various European nations, while authorities say many of the deceased were so severely injured that naming the victims could take an extended period.
A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions
Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 injured when the inferno engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and basement nightclub.
“The first objective is to put names to all the bodies,” said Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.
The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unprecedented, terrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing.
Challenging Task of Naming Victims
So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Families of unaccounted-for young people issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and diplomatic missions scrambled to find out if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.
A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental records and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he said.
Hospitals Reach Capacity
Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly became overwhelmed 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, according to news agencies.
A significant number of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available.
A Multinational Tragedy
Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are missing and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.
Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information.
A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “taken aback” by the higher number. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet.
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. Three Italians were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.
The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and additional individuals remained unaccounted for. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.
Families in Anguish
Loved ones have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing.
Paulo Martins, a French citizen living 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 transferred for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins stated.
Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary barriers, 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 haven't heard anything.”
She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne.
Long Road to Recovery
The director of the city’s university hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.
“Patients are being stabilised and moved to the surgery or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even months.”
