CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (OSV News) – “Several dozen” people are presumed dead after a fire broke out in a bar packed with people celebrating the New Year in a Swiss ski resort bar.
The fire broke out at around 1:30 a.m. Jan. 1 in a bar called Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, a ski resort in southern Switzerland, around 115 miles from Geneva.
The Swiss Bishops’ Conference and the Diocese of Sion expressed their “concern, closeness, and compassion for all the victims, their loved ones, and their families.
“This night, which should have been a time of celebration, turned into a terrible catastrophe for hundreds of people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them,” the bishops said in a Jan. 1 message signed by Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey of Sion.
Police Commander Frédéric Gisler of Valais Canton said during a morning press conference of local authorities and responders that “several dozen” people are presumed dead, with more than 100 injured – most with serious burns.
“We are devastated,” Gisler added.
Beatrice Pilloud, prosecutor-general of Valais Canton, said an investigation is under way “to identify the circumstances which caused this dramatic situation to occur,” adding that “currently we are favoring a fire and at no time is there question of any attack.”
Victims are of different nationalities and significant diplomatic effort will be needed to identify the victims, said officials at the press conference.
According to The Associated Press, officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” or generalized conflagration. The firefighting term describes how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a “flashover,” when all surfaces in a room ignite at once due to extreme heat, or a “backdraft,” a smoke explosion when a door is opened and air feeds the fire.
The Diocese of Sion also expressed its “support and gratitude to all those involved in various ways in assisting the victims, both on the ground and in the various hospitals mobilized: medical personnel, police, and civil and judicial authorities.”
Local authorities urged caution to local communities as hospitals were already overwhelmed with care for the victims of the accident and don't have any other capacity to treat patients.
“On this New Year’s Day, traditionally dedicated in the Catholic Church to the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and to worldwide prayer for peace, we pray that the grieving families may be accompanied and supported. That the light of solidarity may dispel the thick black smoke of this tragedy, we especially entrust all the victims and their loved ones to the tenderness of the Virgin Mary,” the Swiss bishops said.
