The toll in lives lost to the New Year’s fire in Switzerland came into focus Sunday as authorities provided new details on those killed, who represented a wide geography but largely perished in their teens.
All 40 people who died in the fire at the Constellation bar near the Crans-Montana resort in southern Switzerland have been identified and ranged in age from 14 to 39, police in the Swiss canton of Valais said Sunday.
Victims included several Swiss, French and Italian citizens, as well as citizens of Belgium, Portugal, Romania and Turkey. One victim had dual Swiss-French nationality, one was a dual citizen of Italy and the United Arab Emirates, and one had French, Israeli and British citizenship, the police said in a statement.
Authorities declined to release any further information “out of respect for families,” the police said.
Switzerland will observe a national day of mourning Friday, President Guy Parmelin said Sunday. At 2 p.m. local time that day, as a memorial service is held for the victims in Crans-Montana, church bells will sound throughout the country, and a minute of silence will be observed, Parmelin said.
The fire broke out during a New Year’s Eve celebration, apparently when sparklers placed on top of champagne bottles ignited the ceiling in the crowded venue’s basement, causing a “flashover,” when nearly everything in a room bursts into flames simultaneously. In addition to the 40 people killed, 119 were injured, many critically.
Police said Saturday that they had launched a criminal case against the two operators of the bar, accusing them of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent causing of a conflagration.
Of the 119 people wounded, 35 were transferred for specialized burn treatment at hospitals in Belgium, Germany, France, and Italy, Switzerland’s Federal Office for Civil Protection said.
On Sunday, a church service was held in Crans-Montana, and attendees paid their respects to the victims. Following the service, a crowd processed to the Constellation bar, where flowers and candles had been placed in a makeshift memorial to the deceased, and sang a tearful rendition of “Hallelujah,” by Leonard Cohen, according to French and Swiss media reports.
Names of some victims began to trickle out on social media. Joël Rey, a city councillor in the town of Sierre, said his daughter Caroline, 24, was among those who lost their lives. On Facebook, he called himself “a father who cannot imagine that such a tragedy affects his child, his daughter who has her whole life ahead of her.” In a video posted to Facebook on Sunday, Laetitia Brodard-Sitre identified her son Arthur as one of the dead.
Earlier, on Thursday, Emanuele Galeppini, 17, an Italian golfer living in Dubai, was identified as one of the victims by the Italian Golf Federation.
The Swiss government created a condolence book online for people to share their thoughts and well wishes. Parmelin was the first to post an entry.
“Many of the victims were young, full of plans, hopes, and dreams,” the president wrote. “Their lives should not be defined by how they ended. They should be honored for what they were: a promise, an energy, a part of our shared future.”
Hundreds of condolence notes poured in from all over the world, many highlighting the youth of the victims and the lives cut short.
“So many innocent lives, so many children torn far too soon from the sweetness of childhood and the future that awaited them,” Inord Piccoli of France wrote.
“Our hearts are broken for the loss and injury of so many beautiful young people whose lives were just beginning,” Giselle Portenier of Canada said, “and for those left behind who must now come to terms with this unbelievable tragedy.”
M’hamdi Dorra of Tunisia said the tragedy “deeply affects” him because he lived previously in Switzerland and “experienced love, solidarity, and humanity” there.
Andreas Leuzinger of New York City wished “everyone strength and resilience to overcome these dark hours.”
Ionel Sava, Romania’s former ambassador to Switzerland, wrote that “the public in Romania watched the rescue operations with a heart full of hope” and now “stand in solidarity” with the Swiss in the face of the tragedy.
From Bangkok, Tristan Padovan wrote simply: “Rest in peace.”
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