Swiss teenagers with a Pin code used a side door to bypass security and access the bar where 40 people were killed in a fire early on New Year’s Day.
On Tuesday, the mayor of Crans-Montana Nicolas Féraud confirmed it was six years since the last fire and security check at Le Constellation bar, which burst into flames in the early hours of January 1st.
“We are profoundly sorry. We did not have an indication that the checks had not been done,” Mr Féraud told reporters on the absence of fire checks since 2019.
At a press conference, Mr Féraud also apologised for previously insisting in a radio interview that there were no lax bar safety controls in Crans-Monata.
“I no longer stand by that remark,” he said.
The mayor confirmed the soundproofing foam panels, believed to have spread the blaze, were present during the last fire check in 2019.
Police stand guard outside the sealed-off the Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on January 2nd. Photograph: Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times
Fire safety officials, he said, were “of the opinion that no security issues existed”.
Mr Féraud insisted on Tuesday he would not resign, saying “one does not leave a sinking ship”.
“I will carry this burden forever – the mourning of these families – my whole life long,” he added.
A group representing families has demanded an outside inquiry and denounced the mayor for presenting his town as a victim of the blaze.
“This means the real victims of the tragedy are denied their status, something that is unacceptable given the dramatic circumstances,” the group added in a statement.
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Investigators believe sparklers attached to champagne bottles and carried high through the cellar bar are believed to have set alight flammable soundproofing foam on the roof of the bar.
Swiss investigators are studying a video, reportedly from a 2019-2020 New Year’s Eve party where champagne bottles with sparklers were carried close to the roof.
A waiter can be heard saying: “Mind the foam.”
Police say all 40 victims of the blaze have been identified and revised down to 116 the number of injured in the blaze.
Three people who presented themselves in hospital on January 1st were classified incorrectly as fire victims.
[ ‘We feel an immense despair’: Grief grips Swiss ski resort of Crans-MontanaOpens in new window ]
Some 83 injured people remain in hospital, many with life-threatening injuries.
The Swiss alpine resort has banned sparklers in all indoor venues – but security failures and fire safety oversights could result in huge liabilities in future lawsuits.
The two owners of the Swiss bar are facing charges of involuntary homicide bodily harm and causing a fire.
One of then, Jacques Moretti, said his premises met all fire standards but had been inspected just three times in the last 10 years. Unlike other cantons, local authorities in Valais organise locally all fire and security checks on restaurants and bars.
Mayor Féraud accused Moretti of “extremely negligent” behaviour given 400 people were in the bar instead of the permitted 100.
Police information indicates half of the victims were minors. Local teenagers were regulars at Le Constellation, loitering near the building’s side entrance to flats above and a retail unit.
A man walks by a makeshift memorial for victims of the Constellation bar fire in Crans-Montana on Tuesday. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty
If someone left, the teenagers could enter, or open the door themselves with the Pin code said to be in wide circulation on messaging apps.
“Many young people knew about this,” one teenager told the Blick tabloid. “Whoever had the Pin code for the sliding door could get in, even at night.”
Politicians in the Swiss canton of Valais have resisted efforts over the years to introduce obligatory building insurance on property owners – something that is likely to change in light of the tragedy.
Switzerland’s Social Democratic Party (SP) argues that obligatory coverage would see insurers pressure policy holders for buildings to be compliant with the local fire code.
“The Valais system for fire checks and building insurance has to change, such a tragedy cannot be repeated,” said Mr Ueli Schmezer, an SP parliamentarian.