Newly released video from Switzerland shows the first moments of a deadly fire that tore through a crowded bar during New Year’s celebrations in the Alpine resort of Crans-Montana, as young revelers are seen filming the flames as they spread across the ceiling instead of fleeing in what authorities believe were critical seconds of confusion over how quickly the fire could grow.
Swiss authorities said about 40 people were killed and at least 119 others were injured, some critically, in the blaze. Relatives across several countries continued desperate searches for missing loved ones who had been attending the celebration.
The first moments of the fire
Local prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud told a news conference Friday night that preliminary findings indicate the fire was likely sparked by a sparkler attached to a champagne bottle. The sparkler was positioned too close to the ceiling, which investigators believe was lined with foam soundproofing panels. The material ignited and allowed the fire to spread with extreme speed, she said. Other possible causes are still being examined, though Pilloud did not elaborate.
The disaster occurred during a New Year’s Eve party late Wednesday into Thursday at the Le Constellation Bar, a basement venue in the popular ski resort frequented by both Swiss residents and foreign tourists. The fire broke out at about 1:30 a.m. while more than 200 people were inside, according to reports. Authorities quickly ruled out terrorism or any deliberate attack.
Survivors said the flames began after a candle or a sparkler carried atop a champagne bottle touched the ceiling. Investigators are focusing on renovations previously carried out at the bar, the materials used, fire safety measures and emergency exits. They are also seeking to determine how many people were inside at the time. Regulations allow the venue to hold about 300 people.
A central focus of the investigation is the soundproofing material installed in the basement ceiling. Investigators have questioned the bar’s owners, a French couple who bought the business in 2015. Pilloud said they have not been formally cautioned or charged. One of the owners, Jacques Moretti, told Italian and Swiss media that all renovations complied with the law. He said the venue was inspected three times over the past decade, though not annually.
The footage of the fire’s earliest moments was recorded by a 19-year-old French economics student, Ferdinand de Beaudiez, who survived after fleeing seconds later. The video shows some partygoers continuing to sing, dance and shout beneath the spreading flames.
Ferdinand told Britain’s Daily Mail that he initially tried to extinguish the fire with water, but failed. He said he saw waiters carrying champagne bottles topped with sparklers, one of which ignited the foam ceiling. “I saw the fire on the roof and went downstairs to the bar,” he said. “I found some water in a fridge and tried to throw it on the fire, but it had already spread across the whole ceiling.”
He said he arrived at the party with friends and his girlfriend and tried to lead people out. “I grabbed my girlfriend’s hand and screamed ‘get out,’” he said. “I pushed her up the stairs as hard as I could, but I lost her hand. I fell to the floor.”
According to his account, someone opened the entrance door at that moment, feeding the flames. “I felt a fireball above my head. I couldn’t breathe anymore,” he said. He later found his girlfriend only after reentering the bar to help an unconscious person. His brother was hospitalized and remains unconscious, he said.
An Instagram page set up Thursday to help locate the missing quickly drew tens of thousands of followers, with dozens of posts seeking information about young people who have not been accounted for. Among the missing are teenagers as young as 15.
The family of Arthur Brodard, 16, a Swiss citizen, said they were still searching for him. His mother, Laetitia, told a local newspaper she traveled to Lausanne to check hospitals, while his father searched in Bern. “I am in a nightmare,” she said. “Either I will find my son in the morgue, or I will find him in critical condition. It is horrible.” Friends of Arthur were found with burns over half their bodies, she said. “They went through hell.”
The family of Achille Baruzzi, 16, is also searching for him. His aunt told the BBC that he went back into the bar to retrieve a jacket and phone he had forgotten and has not been heard from since. “We don’t know where he is and hope he is in one of the hospitals,” she said. “We don’t know if he is alive.” She said Baruzzi is a gifted painter studying at an art school in Milan.
Another missing person is Emily Furlong, 22, who her family believes was at the bar with friends who are also unaccounted for. Her grandfather, Pierre, said the family is struggling between hope and fear. “We hope and stay positive, because it helps overcome everything,” he said. “We must be ready to face something worse, but we cannot dream. We must be realistic.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Friday that one of the missing holds Israeli citizenship along with another nationality. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Pewzner of Geneva said three Jewish teenage girls are among the missing in Crans-Montana and that the Israeli citizen also holds French citizenship.
Among the injured is 19-year-old soccer player Thairys dos Santos, who plays for the reserve team of French club Metz. His agent said dos Santos suffered burns to about 30% of his body and was in “terrible pain.” He was transferred to a hospital in Germany, where his parents joined him. The agent said his lungs are gradually recovering.
Swiss officials said 119 people were injured, including 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French, 11 Italians and four Serbians. Other injured people from additional countries are being treated in hospitals across Europe.
Crans-Montana, set amid pine forests and snow-covered peaks with ski runs reaching about 3,000 meters, is a major World Cup destination. It is scheduled to host top downhill skiers, including American Lindsey Vonn, ahead of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February. The nearby Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club hosts a major tournament each August.
For now, the small resort town is synonymous with one of Europe’s deadliest disasters in recent years. In March, 63 people were killed in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia after pyrotechnics from the stage ignited the ceiling during a concert. In 2023, a separate nightclub fire in Murcia, Spain, killed 13 people.