Authorities are working to determine the cause of a fire that swept through a crowded bar on New Year’s Day, killing at least 40 people and injuring 115 in the Crans-Montana mountain resort in southern Switzerland, as questions remain over how the blaze started and became so deadly.
The fire broke out in the early morning Thursday at the Constellation lounge bar inside the resort in the Swiss canton of Valais and spread quickly, triggering one or more explosions at the packed, two-story venue, authorities said.
The public prosecutor’s office in Valais has opened a criminal investigation, authorities said. Beatrice Pilloud, the attorney general for Valais canton, at an earlier news conference ruled out the possibility of an attack, saying the inquiry would work to identify the circumstances that led to the fire.
It was not yet clear how many people were inside the bar 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. Many of the victims were young people celebrating the new year, according to local police, who said identifying them could take days or even weeks.
In most of Switzerland, young people are able to buy beer or wine from the age of 16, though the sale of spirits is banned for those under 18.
“I’ve been looking for my son everywhere for more than 30 hours,” a woman identified only by her first name, Laetitia, told France’s BFMTV of her search for her 16-year-old son, Arthur. He was celebrating the new year with his school friends, she said.
The Crans-Montana is popular for skiing, gourmet restaurants and nightlife. The Alpine destination offers views of the Matterhorn, one of the world’s most photographed mountains, and Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe. The resort was acquired in 2024 by the U.S.-based Vail Resorts, though that does not include the bar, according to Swiss business records.
At a news conference Thursday, Swiss officials were asked about whether champagne bottles with flames might have played a role and whether all safety regulations were followed, but officials declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
Local authorities said in a statement Thursday that the fire resulted in a flashover — an event 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. Initial findings suggested the flashover led to at least one explosion, according to the canton’s statement.
The area around the bar, on the ski town’s central street, was closed down and a no-fly zone was instituted. During the night, care centers were set up to support the injured and the victims’ families.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin told Le Temps newspaper that many foreign nationals were present in the bar. He said he would not speculate ahead of the investigation’s findings but vowed consequences for anyone found to be responsible.
In a Thursday news conference, he described the fire as among the worst tragedies in the country’s history.
Many of the injured suffered severe and significant burns, Valais officials said. Stéphane Ganzer, head of the canton’s security department, told French radio RTL on Friday that “between 80 and 100” of the injured are in a critical condition.
Officials have not released information on the nationalities of the victims.
Tahirys Dos Santos, a 19-year-old youth player for the FC Metz French association soccer club, was severely burned in the fire and airlifted to Germany for treatment, his club confirmed Thursday.
One Australian was also among the injured, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement to The Washington Post.
French media, citing the country’s Foreign Ministry, reported early Friday that nine French citizens were among the injured, with another eight missing.
Reuters cited Italian authorities as saying that six Italians were still missing and 13 hospitalized.
About 60 people were treated at Valais Hospital across several sites and about 60 were transferred to other hospitals, including the only two Swiss centers that specialize in the treatment of severe burns with more than 20 percent of body surface area affected, Lausanne University Hospital and the University Hospital of Zurich, the Valais State Council said in a news release.
Swiss authorities were coordinating with neighboring countries to facilitate medical care, the council added. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the burns center at Niguarda Hospital, in Milan, had been made available to treat victims. France has reserved 19 hospital beds for burn victims, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said Thursday.
Bart Schaneman, Jennifer Hassan, Maham Javaid and Kate Brady contributed to this report.
correctionA previous version of this article incorrectly said Vail Resorts acquired the Crans-Montana resort in 2023. The acquisition was completed in 2024.
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