🔗 Share this article

Survivors of the catastrophic nightclub blaze in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units across Europe, while investigators report many of the deceased were so severely injured that identification could take an extended period.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“The first objective is to put names to all the bodies,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives tragically ended, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a news conference.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was exceptionally difficult. Families of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so distressing and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, as reported by 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 offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are unaccounted for and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on early data.

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 the majority of the injured had now been named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Some victims were repatriated 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 one of its nationals was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend narrowly missed being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was deeply traumatized,” Martins said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, 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, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and transferred to the operating theatre or to intensive care units,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even months.”