Listen to the article
Dozens Presumed Dead in New Year’s Fire at Swiss Alps Resort Bar
Dozens of people are presumed dead and approximately 100 injured following a devastating fire that swept through a bar in the Swiss Alps resort town of Crans-Montana during New Year’s celebrations, police confirmed Thursday.
“Several tens of people” were killed at Le Constellation bar, according to Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler. During a news conference, Gisler noted that the process of identifying victims and notifying families is ongoing, making it premature to provide exact casualty figures. The community, he added, is “devastated” by the tragedy.
Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, emphasized that the cause of the fire remains undetermined, as investigators have not yet been able to access the building’s interior. She specifically ruled out terrorism, stating, “At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack.”
Emergency responders mobilized a fleet of helicopters and ambulances to assist victims, many of whom suffered serious injuries. The disaster affected people from multiple countries, according to officials.
Witness accounts suggest the fire may have started when a barmaid holding a lit candle in a bottle accidentally ignited the wooden ceiling. Two women who spoke to French broadcaster BFMTV described being inside when they saw a barman carrying a barmaid on his shoulders just before the fire erupted. The flames reportedly spread rapidly, causing the ceiling to collapse.
The ensuing panic created a dangerous bottleneck as patrons attempted to escape from a basement nightclub up a narrow staircase through a single door. One witness recounted people breaking windows to flee the inferno, with many sustaining grave injuries in the process. Distressed parents rushed to the scene in vehicles, desperately searching for their children.
Fire officials characterized the blaze as an “embrasement généralisé,” a phenomenon similar to what English-speaking firefighters call a flashover or backdraft, where a fire triggers the release of combustible gases that ignite violently.
“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.
The local medical infrastructure was quickly overwhelmed, with the regional hospital’s intensive care unit and operating theaters reaching full capacity. Authorities have urged residents to exercise caution in coming days to avoid accidents that might require already-strained medical resources.
Crans-Montana is a prominent destination in Switzerland’s Valais region, known for its high-altitude ski runs at approximately 3,000 meters in the heart of the Swiss Alps. The resort stands alongside Zermatt and Verbier as one of the country’s premier winter sports centers, attracting international tourists throughout the season.
The timing is particularly poignant for the resort, which is scheduled to host top men’s and women’s downhill ski races in four weeks—their final events before the Milan Cortina Olympics opening on February 6. Looking further ahead, Crans-Montana will host the world championships in February 2027.
Beyond winter sports, the town is recognized for its Crans-sur-Sierre golf club, which stages the European Masters each August on a course renowned for its spectacular mountain vistas. Le Constellation bar is located approximately 250 meters from the golf club.
The region is no stranger to tragedy. Crans-Montana lies less than 5 kilometers from Sierre, where 28 people, many of them children, perished when a Belgian bus crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.
This disaster also comes 25 years after another New Year’s Eve tragedy, when a café fire in the Dutch fishing town of Volendam killed 14 people and injured more than 200 celebrants.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who began his one-year term just hours earlier on Thursday, expressed the government’s condolences in a social media post: “Thoughts go to the victims, to the injured and their relatives, to whom it addresses its sincere condolences.”
Out of respect for the victims’ families, Parmelin postponed his traditional New Year address to the nation, which had been scheduled for broadcast Thursday afternoon.
Fact Checker
Verify the accuracy of this article using The Disinformation Commission analysis and real-time sources.
7 Comments
Devastating news. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. It’s crucial that officials get to the bottom of what happened to prevent similar tragedies.
While the cause is still unknown, I hope the investigation can shed light on what happened and identify ways to improve safety at similar venues in the future. Wishing strength to the community during this difficult time.
Fires can spread rapidly in crowded, wooden structures, so the loss of life is unfortunately not surprising. My condolences to all impacted by this terrible tragedy.
Yes, the remote alpine location likely made it difficult for emergency responders to reach the scene quickly. Tragic all around.
This is a tragic incident that highlights the risks associated with large gatherings, especially in remote or confined spaces. My heart goes out to the victims and their loved ones.
It’s good that investigators are being thorough in determining the cause, as that will be crucial for improving safety and preventing similar disasters in the future. Hopefully the community can come together to support those affected.
Agreed. Transparency around the investigation findings will be important for understanding what happened and implementing any necessary changes.