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This photograph shows the area around the bar Le Constellation after a fire ripped through the venue during the New Year’s Eve celebrations in the luxury Alpine ski resort town of Crans-Montana, on January 1, 2026. – Maxime Schmid\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
New Year celebrations turned to tragedy in Switzerland on Thursday, as a fire tore through a bar packed with young people at an upscale Alpine ski resort<\/a>, killing 40 and injuring about 119 others, in what was described by the Swiss president as one of the country\u2019s worst tragedies.<\/p>\n The blaze broke out in the early hours of New Year\u2019s Day at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, one of Switzerland\u2019s most exclusive locales. Witnesses described chaos and terror as flames rapidly engulfed a bar in the basement, with people screaming and smashing windows in a desperate bid to escape.<\/p>\n Families of the missing faced an agonizing wait for news of their loved ones on Friday as Swiss officials said identifying those killed in the fire, which include citizens of at least nine European countries, could \u201ctake several days.\u201d<\/p>\n An investigation has been launched into the cause of the blaze and whether safety standards were upheld. Officials said Friday that the fire was likely caused by sparklers in champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what we know.<\/p>\n What happened?<\/p>\n Smoke was first spotted at the venue around 1:30 a.m. local time on January 1, according to Valais Cantonal Police Commander Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Gisler.<\/p>\n Le Constellation lies at the heart of the luxury ski resort of Crans-Montana, in the French and German-speaking canton of Valais.<\/p>\n Videos obtained and verified by CNN show the moments immediately after the deadly fire broke out, as it rapidly spread across the bar\u2019s ceiling. Panicked crowds can be seen rushing up a staircase to escape, while another video shows the fire, which quickly turned into a raging inferno, engulf the bar as people desperately tumble out of windows and pile down a flight of stairs toward the street outside.<\/p>\n Multiple people can be seen lying motionless on the ground outside in another video, as bystanders attend to them.<\/p>\n Social media video shows the fire engulfing the venue in the early hours of New Year’s Day. – From social media<\/p>\n Laetitia Place, 17, who was inside the bar when the fire broke out, said people were frantically pushing to get through a small door. \u201cWe all fell, we were piled on top of each other, some people were burning, and some were dead next to us,\u201d she told Reuters.<\/p>\n Another eyewitness recalled hearing people shouting as the fire tore through the venue. \u201cThere were people screaming, and then people lying on the ground, probably dead. They had jackets over their faces,\u201d local resident Samuel Rapp told Reuters.<\/p>\n Two witnesses said there were at least 200 people inside the establishment. Prosecutors said Friday that they may never know how many people were present at the time of the disaster.<\/p>\n According to its website, Le Constellation \u2013 which has two bars and a terrace space \u2013 has a capacity of 300 people.<\/p>\n Authorities responded within minutes<\/a> of a fire being reported, Gisler said, and 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances were mobilized<\/a>. The huge number of casualties overwhelmed the region\u2019s medical system and so patients have been transported to hospitals across the country and abroad.<\/p>\n What caused the fire?<\/p>\n While the exact circumstances around the tragedy are still being investigated, the chief prosecutor in Switzerland\u2019s Valais canton Beatrice Pilloud said on Friday that, \u201cSome hypotheses can be confirmed. As things stand, everything points to the fire starting from sparklers or flares placed in champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling, which very rapidly led to a flashover fire.\u201d<\/p>\n A flashover occurs when hot gases rise to the ceiling and spread across the walls, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Heat intensifies until all combustible items in the room reach their ignition point near-simultaneously, as does the room itself.<\/p>\n Two witnesses told CNN affiliate BFMTV that the devastating incident happened after sparklers were placed in champagne bottles and raised in the air.<\/p>\n \u201cOne waitress was standing on another waiter\u2019s shoulders, and the bottle and the flames were just a few centimeters away from the ceiling,\u201d one eyewitness said.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the ceiling was on fire, within about 10 seconds the entire nightclub was on fire,\u201d the other reveler added.<\/p>\n Le Constellation was on at least two levels with stairs leading to a lower level, as seen in a photo posted by the bar’s management to TripAdvisor in August 2016. – From Le Constellation<\/p>\n Local resident Thomas Dias told CNN the bar was popular with teenagers and young people. To those trapped inside, he said, escape would have likely been a \u201cnightmare,\u201d if hundreds had to funnel up the narrow staircase from the basement to the ground floor.<\/p>\n An apparent promotional video for the bar posted in May 2024 shows women wearing motorcycle helmets and carrying bottles of alcohol topped with sparklers as they walked through the establishment. CNN has asked Le Constellation for comment on the cause of the fire and the purported use of sparklers.<\/p>\n The bar had a fire exit but most people inside the venue would have struggled to find it, Valais security director St\u00e9phane Ganzer told a news conference on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen there is an instance of flashover where you have so much smoke that it\u2019s impossible to see, to move, the majority of people, one would imagine, failed to find the fire exit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Who are the victims?<\/p>\n Police said at least 40 people were killed and around 119 others injured. Six of the injured people are yet to be identified, according to Valais Cantonal police chief Gisler.<\/p>\n Of those injured, 71 are Swiss nationals, Gisler said at a news conference on Friday. The injured also includes 14 French nationals, 11 Italians, four Serbians, one Bosnian national, one Belgian national, one Luxembourgian national, one Polish national and one Portuguese national.<\/p>\n A further 14 of the patients being treated have not yet had their nationality confirmed, Gisler added.<\/p>\n Multiple helicopters, ambulances and medical personnel were deployed to the deadly incident. – Maxime Schmid\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s foreign ministry has said that multiple Italians remain missing and unaccounted for following the disaster, and France\u2019s foreign minister said Friday that eight French citizens are still unaccounted for in the aftermath.<\/p>\n Of those injured, a \u201csignificant number\u201d have been classified as being in a \u201ccritical\u201d condition, said Swiss State Council president Mathias Reynard.<\/p>\n The president of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, previously said many of the victims were young people \u201cfull of plans, hope and dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n What has the reaction been?<\/p>\n Parmelin said the incident represented a \u201ctragic loss that touches the whole country and far beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n New Year\u2019s Day was the first day of Parmelin\u2019s one-year term as head of state; he postponed a traditional address to the nation out of respect for the victims.<\/p>\n French President Emmanuel Macron also offered his condolences to the bereaved, saying Switzerland has \u201cthe full solidarity of France and our fraternal support.\u201d<\/p>\n An ambulance arrives at Hospital du Valais, where the victims are being received following a fire at Le Constellation bar, in Sion, Switzerland, on Thursday. – Pierre Albouy\/Reuters<\/p>\n Dozens of mourners attended a vigil near the bar Thursday night, where people laid flowers, lit candles and comforted each other.<\/p>\n \u201cYou think you\u2019re safe here but this can happen anywhere. They were people like us,\u201d Piermarco Pani, 18, told Reuters.<\/p>\n The US Embassy in the Swiss capital Bern said it is \u201cdeeply saddened<\/a> by the tragic fire.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Social](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cc00195bbf4630fafe7fd57a33b4e034.jpeg\"\/)
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