As Swiss authorities Saturday began confirming identities of the dead to anguished relatives, police announced a criminal investigation against the two operators of the bar where a ferocious fire broke out during a New Year’s celebration, killing 40 people and injuring 119 others, many critically.
The bar managers are accused of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent causing of a conflagration, Swiss police said in a statement Saturday afternoon.
The criminal investigation follows an initial inquiry in which Swiss authorities were examining safety protocols and building conditions inside the bar, called the Constellation, near the Crans-Montana resort. The intense, fast-moving fire apparently started when sparklers placed on top of champagne bottles were held up close to the crowded venue’s ceiling.
Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Swiss canton of Valais, told a news conference Friday that the investigation will focus on the building materials used, operating permits, the number of people inside the bar and fire safety protocols in place, such as evacuation routes and access points for first responders.
Among the building materials under scrutiny was acoustic foam in the ceiling used for soundproofing, Pilloud said. The probe will also examine whether the bar had permission to use sparklers inside, she said.
Criminal charges, such as arson by negligence, manslaughter by negligence and bodily harm caused by negligence, will be brought if appropriate, Pilloud added, and if the people believed responsible are alive.
Officials said that the immediate priority of law enforcement is supporting families gathered in Crans-Montana and the continuing effort to identify victims, officials said.
Valais cantonal police on Saturday began confirming the identities of victims killed in the fire: two Swiss women, ages 21 and 16; and two Swiss men, ages 18 and 16.
Officials said the bodies were released to relatives after the identification process was completed, adding that out of respect for the families, no additional details would be made public for now.
Valais police commander Frédéric Gisler said 113 of the 119 injured had been formally identified, including 71 from Switzerland, 14 from France, 11 Italians and four Serbs. The identification of the 40 dead is ongoing, he added.
Pilloud said the bar’s two managers, who are both French citizens, had been interviewed.
The Swiss daily, Tribune de Genève, reported that it had spoken briefly by telephone with one of the bar’s two owners, Jacques Moretti, and that he said the Constellation had been inspected “three times in 10 years” and that “everything was done according to standards.”
The newspaper cited local ordinances and a state legislator stating that inspections were required annually.
On Saturday, the newspaper reported that municipal authorities in Crans-Montana had handed over the file relating to inspections carried out at the bar and that Pilloud had announced that the documents were under review.
“The file was requested from the municipality, it was obtained, the municipality handed it over to us,” Pilloud said during a visit to the scene by the head of Switzerland’s Justice and Police Department, Beat Jans. “No lead is being left unexplored. All avenues are being investigated,” she added. “This investigation was opened because we have suspicions, but until there is a conviction, the presumption of innocence prevails.”
It was not immediately clear who was representing the accused.
French media reported that Moretti was not at the bar when the fire occurred but that his wife and co-owner, Jessica Moretti, was there at the time and had suffered burns on her arm. French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the couple bought the bar in 2015 and also own two other establishments in Crans-Montana.
The fire began about 1:30 a.m. Thursday and spread rapidly, causing at least one explosion, officials have said. The death and destruction was the result of a flashover, which the National Fire Protection Association describes as “the sudden, simultaneous ignition of everything in a room,” in which temperatures can soar to as much as 1,000 degrees in a few seconds.
The bar was packed with young people celebrating the new year in the picturesque mountain town. It was not yet clear how many people were inside when the fire broke out. The Constellation has a capacity of 300 people with a terrace that holds 40, according to the resort’s tourism agency.
Video showed New Year’s revelers inside the bar holding up bottles filled with lighted sparklers near the ceiling.
Many of the injured are in critical condition and the death toll could rise. As medical teams raced to treat the injured — many of whom sustained third-degree burns — a regional blood donation organization called Saturday for more donations to bolster the supply at local hospitals.
“Following the devastating fire in Crans-Montana, we are closely monitoring our blood product stocks,” the CRS Interregional Transfusion Centre said in a Facebook post, adding that the levels were currently at “normal.”
About 50 people have been or will be transferred to facilities specializing in severe burns in other European countries, such as France and Italy, Mathias Reynard, head of the Valais canton government, said. Germany and Belgium are also receiving patients, and Luxembourg and Romania were among the nations to offer air transport, officials said.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani visited Crans-Montana on Friday to meet with Italian families impacted by the fire.
Flags on government buildings in Switzerland and at Swiss embassies around the world are flying at half-staff as a gesture of mourning, officials said.
On Saturday, the Swiss Confederation launched an online book of condolences, “for those wishing to express their sadness and sympathy to the victims of the tragedy,” the country’s federal council posted on X.
Victoria Bisset in London and Tobi Raji in Washington contributed to this report.
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