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Dozens of people celebrating the New Year are feared dead on Thursday when a massive fire broke out in a bar in the Swiss Alps.
The chaotic blaze at the Le Constellation site in the alpine ski resort municipality of Crans-Montana in Switzerland, which broke out at 1:30 a.m. local time during New Year’s celebrations, has injured about 100 people, many of them seriously, authorities said.
“This evening was supposed to be a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Matthias Renard, head of the regional government.
“Several tens of thousands of people” were killed in the bar, Valais canton police commander Frédéric Geisler said during a news conference.
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Rescue workers and firefighters work at the site of a bar explosion in Crans-Montana on January 1, 2026. (Maxime Schmid/AFP via Getty Images)
Officials said helicopters and ambulances arrived at the scene to assist the victims, who included some from different countries.
Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that they were inside when they saw a male bartender carrying a female bartender on his shoulders. The female bartender was holding a burning candle in a bottle which caused the wooden ceiling to catch fire. The flames spread rapidly and the roof collapsed, he told the broadcaster.
People were killed and injured in an interior building fire during New Year’s celebrations in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. (Valais Cantonal Police/AP)
One of the women described the crowd growing as people tried to escape the basement nightclub through a narrow flight of stairs and a narrow door.
Another witness, speaking to BFMTV, reported that people were breaking windows to escape the fire, some were seriously injured, and panicked parents were rushing to the scene in cars to see if their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people struggling to get out of the smoke and flames and compared what he saw to a horror movie he watched from across the street.
There were so many injured that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital immediately reached full capacity, Renard said.
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Police officers and first responders stand next to a vehicle at the site of a fire at Bar le Constellation in Crans-Montana, Switzerland on January 1, 2026. (Maxime Schmid/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the Associated Press, officials described how the blaze released flammable gases that flared up violently and caused what English-speaking firefighters call a flashover or backdraft.
The Valais canton attorney general said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire, but authorities ruled out terrorism.
Police spokesman Gaetan Lathien said, “We are just at the beginning of our investigation, but this is an internationally renowned ski resort with a lot of tourists.”
Authorities have urged local residents and visitors to take precautions in the coming days to avoid accidents that could put further strain on emergency medical services during the busy ski season.
The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, about 25 miles north of the Matterhorn.
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Rescue workers are seen at the site of a bar explosion in Crans-Montana on January 1, 2026. (Maxime Schmid/AFP via Getty Images)
Swiss President Guy Parmelin said in a social media post that the government’s thoughts were with the victims, the injured and their relatives, to whom it expressed its sincere condolences.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
