GENEVA: Four more current and former officials are now under criminal investigation in the probe into Switzerland’s Crans-Montana fire disaster, sources close to the case told AFP on Thursday (Apr 16).
“The investigation has been extended to include four new individuals, bringing the total number of defendants to 13,” the public prosecutors’ office in southwest Switzerland’s Wallis canton confirmed to AFP.
The Crans-Montana municipal councillor in charge of security, their 2013-2016 predecessor, the current deputy head of the public safety department, and the 2009-2016 mayor of the neighbouring municipality of Chermignon, will be interviewed between May 11 and Jun 3, sources close to the case told AFP.
The fire in a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana broke out early on Jan 1 as people celebrated the New Year.
A total of 41 people were killed in the tragedy at Le Constellation – mostly teenagers – while another 115 were injured.
Those already under investigation include the bar’s French owners – husband and wife Jacques and Jessica Moretti – who face charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
Jacques Moretti is set to be questioned again by public prosecutors on Jun 5.
“We must commend the progress of the investigation and the sustained pace of the hearings. We are making progress, and for the families, this is invaluable,” Romain Jordan, a lawyer representing several victims’ relatives, told AFP.
The announcement follows a second wave of hearings in the case, held over the past few weeks in the Wallis capital Sion.