{"id":57903,"date":"2026-04-29T21:09:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T21:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/57903\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T21:09:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T21:09:15","slug":"swiss-bar-in-fire-that-left-40-dead-had-missed-6-years-of-safety-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/57903\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss bar in fire that left 40 dead had missed 6 years of safety checks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Swiss\u00a0bar\u00a0where 40 people were killed in a fire<\/a> at the New Year had not been subjected to any annual safety inspections since 2019, the mayor of the ski resort of Crans-Montana said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Swiss\u00a0authorities have been searching for explanations for\u00a0the blaze,<\/a> which tore through the \u201cLe Constellation\u201d\u00a0bar\u00a0in the early hours of January 1. Most of the victims were teenagers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply sorry. We had no indication that the checks had not been done as requested,\u201d Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Feraud told reporters, adding that\u00a0bars in the town are meant to have such inspections each year.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A deadly flashover engulfs the ceiling panels of Le Constellation bar in Cran-Montana, Switzerland, on Jan. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The grandmother of 16-year-old Riccardo Minghetti, who died at the \u201cLe Constellation\u201d bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland during a New Year\u2019s Eve party, touches her grandson\u2019s coffin during his funeral at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome, Italy, January 7, 2026. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Prosecutors\u00a0have said\u00a0the fire was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ceiling of the\u00a0bar\u2019s basement, which was covered in a foam material used for soundproofing.<\/p>\n

A video from New Year\u2019s Eve 2019-2020 shared by\u00a0Swiss\u00a0broadcaster RTS showed revelers carrying similar sparklers in bottles as a waiter warns: \u201cWatch out for the foam!\u201d<\/p>\n

Reuters could not immediately verify the video.\u00a0Feraud said his team was not aware this type of party had taken place there.<\/p>\n

Soundproof Foam Never Tested<\/p>\n

Feraud said the \u201cLe Constellation\u201d had passed its last inspection in 2019.<\/p>\n

The soundproof foam on its ceiling was considered acceptable at the time, and a fire alarm was not required due to the\u00a0bar\u2019s size.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese soundproof panels have never been inspected, as our safety managersapparently did not deem it necessary,\u201d Feraud said.<\/p>\n

\"Revelers<\/p>\n

Revelers hold up sparklers inside Le Constellation as a fire begins to spread during a New Year\u2019s celebration. BFMTV\/X<\/p>\n

\"Mourners<\/p>\n

Mourners gather near the bar Le Constellation after the deadly fire in the Alpine ski resort town of Crans-Montana on Jan. 2, 2026. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

He said the law does not oblige authorities to verify such materials, but \u201cthe courts will have to determine whether this should have been done regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the\u00a0bar<\/a>\u00a0on suspicion of crimes including homicide by negligence.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being put under arrest, and they did not see a flight risk.<\/p>\n

\"Jacques<\/p>\n

Jacques Moretti and his wife Jessica operated Le Constellation bar before the deadly fire. X<\/p>\n

\"Flags<\/p>\n

Flags and flowers are placed at a memorial in Crans-Montana on Jan. 6, 2026. AP<\/p>\n

Feraud said authorities had closed another venue run by the pair <\/a>and that sparkler candles that likely triggered the blaze had\u00a0now been banned inside the town\u2019s venues.<\/p>\n

Safety teams will immediately carry out extra inspections, he added.<\/p>\n

Two Exits<\/p>\n

In addition to the 40 dead, at least 116 people were injured.<\/a><\/p>\n

The large number of victims has led to questions about whether the\u00a0bar\u00a0was overcrowded.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A coffin, carrying a victim of the deadly bar fire, is carried off a state plane at Milan Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, on Jan. 5, 2026. Alessandro Bremec\/NurPhoto\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People cry during a memorial procession for the victims of the Le Constellation fire on Jan 4, 2026. AP<\/p>\n

Feraud said its maximum capacity was 200 people,<\/a> with emergency exits designed to cater for 100 people on each of its two levels.<\/p>\n

He said he did not know if the downstairs exit was working that night and that investigators would determine this.<\/p>\n

Inspections were also conducted at the\u00a0bar\u00a0in 2016 and 2018, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Before then, the building that houses it sat in a different municipality before Crans-Montana\u2019s creation in 2017, Feraud said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The\u00a0Swiss\u00a0bar\u00a0where 40 people were killed in a fire at the New Year had not been subjected to any…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[25545,3645,32204,17151,32203,41,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-57903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-switzerland","8":"tag-constellation","9":"tag-crans-montana","10":"tag-deadly-fire","11":"tag-nicolas-feraud","12":"tag-safety-inspections","13":"tag-swiss","14":"tag-switzerland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116490047765416951","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}