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Swiss authorities on Friday began the grim task of identifying the mostly young victims Deadly fire in New Year’s Eve bar About 40 people died and more than 100 were injured at a ski resort in Crans-Montana.
Italian officials said the death toll could be as high as 47, Reuters reported, citing information provided by Swiss authorities. A number of Italian civilians were reportedly among the dead, injured or still missing.
A fire broke out at Le Constellation bar in the alpine resort town early Thursday, turning a night of celebration into horror and tragedy. Officials said the fire appeared to be an accident rather than an attack.
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Mourners left flowers and lit candles at a makeshift memorial near the site of a deadly bar fire on New Year’s Eve in the Swiss alpine resort town of Crans-Montana. (Maxime Schmid/AFP via Getty Images)
Swiss officials said formal identification could be delayed by several days due to the severity of many of the victims’ burns, as forensic teams worked to determine the identities of those killed.
Police and government officials said the vast majority of victims were teenagers and young adults, many of whom are believed to be between the ages of 16 and 26. The legal age for drinking beer and wine in Switzerland is 16.
“All this work needs to be done because the information is so horrific and sensitive that families cannot be told anything until we are 100% sure,” said Mathias Renard, head of government of the Valais canton. He said investigators were using dental records and DNA samples to identify the victims.
Italy and France said some of their citizens were missing, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani visited Cross-Montana on Friday and left flowers.
The number of Italians involved in the incident currently stands at 19, according to the BBC, citing Italy’s Foreign Ministry.
Australia has also confirmed the injury of one of its citizens.
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Emergency crews and medical planes were seen at a regional airport in Switzerland as victims of a deadly bar fire on New Year’s Eve in the alpine resort town of Crans-Montana were airlifted for treatment. (Reuters/Lisa Leutner)
Accounts from some survivors and video circulating on social media suggest that the fire in the bar’s basement ceiling may have started when glowing candles used during bottle service came too close, though officials said the cause had not yet been formally determined.
According to the Associated Press, officials said the fire led to the violent ignition of flammable gases — a phenomenon known to English-speaking firefighters as flashover or backdraft.
Axel Clavier, 16 years old from Paris Those who survived the fire described “complete chaos” inside the bar. He told the outlet that one of his friends died and “two or three are missing.”
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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)
Clavier said he did not see the fire start, but he remembered that a waitress had entered the room carrying champagne bottles and sparklers shortly before the fire started.
Another witness told BFMTV that people broke windows to escape the flames. Panicked parents rushed to the spot to see if their children were trapped inside.
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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)
Officials said helicopters and ambulances from several countries arrived at the scene to assist victims. hospitals filled immediatelyWith intensive care units and operating theaters reaching capacity.
Swiss officials later said that the burn unit in Valais was full, and Italy had made a major burn unit in Milan available to treat the injured.
By Friday, mourners had begun leaving flowers and candles Temporary memorial near the besieged bar As the resort town struggled to cope with the scale of the tragedy.
Fox News’ Bradford Betz, Greg Norman, Emma Bassi, as well as the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
