What was meant to be a festive celebration marking the start of a successful new year turned into one of Europe’s deadliest disasters in recent years.
Swiss authorities are investigating what caused a fire at a bar in the popular ski resort of Crans-Montana, where about 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured during New Year’s celebrations. How many people were killed, what happened inside the packed bar and how did the fire spread so rapidly?
Fire spreads across ceiling as panicked crowds flee Swiss ski resort bar
How many people were affected?
Police said about 40 people were killed and around 115 injured in the fire in Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland. However, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Swiss authorities informed Italy that the actual death toll stands at at least 47.
Many of the victims were teenagers and people in their early 20s, including a significant number of foreign nationals. According to official statements, 16 Italian citizens and eight French citizens are currently listed as missing.
So far, only one victim has been publicly identified: Emanuele Galfini, a 17-year-old Italian who had lived in Dubai with his family in recent years. Galfini was considered a promising golf talent and won a tournament in Dubai in April.
About 60 injured people are being treated at the regional hospital in Sion. The head of the local canton said the number of casualties was so large that the intensive care unit and operating rooms at the hospital quickly reached full capacity. Lausanne University Hospital, which treated the most severely injured, said 22 teenagers and young adults ages 16 to 26 were evacuated there. No Israelis were among the victims.
What happened inside the bar?
The fire broke out around 1:30 am Thursday inside Le Constellation bar, at the height of New Year’s celebrations. “The party was in full swing, music and champagne were flowing nonstop,” a local resident told a Lausanne newspaper, describing the moments before the disaster.
Two women told French television network BFMTV that they saw a bartender lifting a waitress onto his shoulders while she held a lit candle or a firework inside a champagne bottle. According to their accounts, flames spread rapidly and caused the wooden ceiling to collapse.
Flames inside a bar at the Crans-Montana ski resort
One of the women said partygoers tried to escape the basement-level club through a narrow stairway and a small exit door, leading to a deadly bottleneck.
That assessment was reinforced by additional witness accounts and visual evidence. Photos circulated online showed revelers holding champagne bottles topped with fireworks, and a waitress being carried on someone’s shoulders while holding a firework, apparently moments before the fatal blaze erupted. A video showed fireworks burning inside bottles as servers entered the hall.
Survivor accounts from the scene
Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris, told The Associated Press he did not see how the fire started but did see waitresses entering with champagne bottles containing fireworks. He said he survived by using a table to push a Plexiglas window out of place, allowing him to escape the bar, where he felt he was suffocating.
“There was total chaos,” he said, adding that one of his friends was killed and two or three others were missing.
Another young man who was at the scene said people smashed windows to escape the fire. He said he saw about 20 people struggling to get out through smoke and flames, describing the scene as “a horror movie.”
A tourist from New York told AFP he saw flames rising inside the bar and people running and screaming in the darkness. Panicked parents rushed to the site in their cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. Outside the bar, ambulances were lined up. Inside, windows were shattered. On the ground floor, dozens of abandoned shoes were scattered across the floor.
Authorities rule out an attack
Officials said it was still too early to determine the exact cause of the fire, but investigators quickly ruled out the possibility of a deliberate attack or terrorism.
The attorney general of Valais canton said experts have not yet been able to fully enter the wreckage, while the local police chief said victim identification and family notifications are ongoing.
Swiss authorities said the fire caused the release of flammable gases, which can ignite violently and trigger what is known as a flashover or backdraft. Victims suffered severe burns and smoke inhalation, and some were airlifted to specialized hospitals across Switzerland.
Fire safety experts explain that a flashover is a common and deadly phenomenon in enclosed spaces, marked by the sudden and simultaneous ignition of all contents in a room. When flames are not extinguished quickly, hot gases rise to the ceiling and rapidly spread heat throughout the space. Temperatures can exceed 900 degrees Fahrenheit, causing everything in the room to ignite almost instantly. Investigators will examine whether fire safety regulations were followed at the bar. Le Constellation had a maximum permitted capacity of about 300 people.
A world-class ski destination
With ski slopes reaching elevations of nearly 10,000 feet amid snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is considered one of the leading destinations on the World Cup circuit. The resort is set to host the world’s 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 every August.
Now, however, the small alpine resort town has become synonymous with one of Europe’s deadliest disasters in recent years. In March, in a similar incident, 63 people were killed at a nightclub in North Macedonia after a fire broke out during a performance by a popular hip-hop duo, when fireworks from the stage hit the ceiling. In 2023, 13 people were killed in a nightclub fire in Murcia, Spain.