Dozens Presumed Dead, About 100 Injured in Fire at Swiss Alps Bar During New Year's Celebration

AP, CRANS-MONTANA (SWITZERLAND), JAN 1, 2025: Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a bar in a Swiss Alps resort town during a New Year's celebration, police said on Thursday.

"Several tens of people" were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frederic Gisler said during a news conference. Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families, but "that will take time, and for the time being, it is premature to give you a more precise figure," Gisler said, adding that the community is "devastated."

Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage. "At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack," Pilloud said.

"This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare," said Mathias Renard, head of the regional government. The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theatre at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Renard said. Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

A witness who spoke to French broadcaster BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.

With high-altitude ski runs at around 3,000 metres (1.86 miles) in the heart of the Swiss Alps, Crans-Montana is one of the winter sports centres of Switzerland's ski-crazy Valais region, also home to Zermatt, Verbier, and other resorts nestled in the snowy peaks and pine forests, drawing winter sports enthusiasts from across the planet. The resort is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.

In four weeks' time, the resort will host the best men's and women's downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan-Cortina Olympics, which open on Feb. 6. Crans-Montana is also a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountain views.

Le Constellation bar is about 250 metres (273 yards) down the street from the golf club.