{"id":263590,"date":"2026-01-02T15:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T15:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/263590\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T15:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T15:26:09","slug":"blaze-likely-started-by-sparklers-in-champagne-bottles-says-attorney-general-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/263590\/","title":{"rendered":"blaze \u2018likely started by sparklers in champagne bottles\u2019, says attorney general \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A local Swiss <\/a>prosecutor has said the fire inside Le Constellation nightclub in the ski resort of Crans-Montana appears to have started from \u201csparklers put on bottles of champagne that was moved too close to the ceiling\u201d. <\/p>\n

About 40 people were killed in the blaze that engulfed the bar, which was packed with mainly young revellers celebrating the new year, and about 119 others injured, many of them seriously, authorities said on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The nationalities of those injured have also been released. They include 71 Swiss, 14 French, 11 Italians, as well as one individual each from Bosnia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal. <\/p>\n

The nationalities of 14 of the injured have not yet been confirmed. <\/p>\n

On the likely cause of the fire, Valais attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said \u201ceverything leads us to believe that the fire was started from sparkling candles or sparklers that were put on bottles of champagne that were moved too close to the ceiling.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom that a blaze began very quickly \u2026 There are videos that have been analysed; there are several people who have been interviewed and reports have been made.\u201d <\/p>\n

Eyewitness video on social media appears to show the moment a fire broke out inside Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. <\/p>\n

The investigation\u2019s next steps will focus on materials used in the bar, the operating permits, safety measures such as fire extinguishers and emergency exits and the number of people in attendance, she said. <\/p>\n

Photographs circulating online appear to show the moment the ceiling caught fire with lit sparklers attached to bottles.<\/p>\n

While the names of the dead and injured have yet to be officially released, Emanuele Galeppini, a 16-year-old Italian international golfer who lived in Dubai, was the first of several possible victims from Italy to be identified locally.<\/p>\n

Investigators have said it could take days to identify all the victims who died in the fire that tore through a crowded bar in the Swiss<\/a> ski resort of Crans-Montana, as a local official said many of the injured were in a life-threatening condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Italian Golf Federation mourns the passing of Emanuele Galeppini, a young athlete who carried with him passion and genuine values,\u201d the federation said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\"EmanueleEmanuele Galeppini with Rory McIlroy. Photograph: Instagram <\/p>\n

Mr Galeppini had been in Crans-Montana with his family. Italian media reported that he had gone to the Constellation bar with two friends, who managed to escape the fire and were taken to nearby hospitals.<\/p>\n

The head of the Valais regional government, Mathias Reynard, said experts were using dental and DNA samples in the \u201cterrible and sensitive\u201d task of identifying the badly burned bodies. \u201cNothing can be told to the families unless we are 100 per cent sure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

B\u00e9atrice Pilloud, the Valais public prosecutor, said \u201csignificant resources\u201d had been put in place to \u201cidentify the victims and return the bodies to families as fast as possible\u201d. The canton\u2019s police chief, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Gisler, said the process could take several days.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The New Year\u2019s Day Swiss ski resort fire: \u2018I can still see people trying to … get out\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

St\u00e9phane Ganzer, a regional health and safety official, told RTL radio that several of the injured had not yet been identified, either because they were not carrying ID or because it had been lost in the fire, adding that many were also a critical condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a large number of the injured, maybe between 80 and 100, are in a life-threatening condition,\u201d Mr Ganzer said on Friday. \u201cWhen 15 per cent or more of an adult\u2019s body has third-degree burns, there is a risk of death in the days and hours that follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SecuritySecurity guards in front of the sealed-off bar. Photograph: Antonio Calanni\/AP <\/p>\n

The victims are believed to be of many nationalities. France\u2019s foreign ministry has said nine French nationals were among the injured and eight were still missing. Italy has said six of its nationals are still missing and 13 were being treated in hospital. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured in the blaze.<\/p>\n

The Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, would visit Crans-Montana on Friday, the country\u2019s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, said. Cornado told Italian media that 47 people had been killed in the blaze, but Ganzer said on Friday he was \u201csurprised\u201d by that figure. \u201cThis is not the same number that we have,\u201d he told RTL radio.<\/p>\n

The EU said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance. France\u2019s president, Emmanuel Macron, said some of the injured were being cared for in French hospitals. Others were hospitalised in Germany.<\/p>\n

\"SwitzerlandSwitzerland fire video still <\/p>\n

Several witness accounts broadcast by the Swiss, French and Italian media pointed to sparklers or flares placed in Champagne bottles and held high by restaurant staff as part of a regular \u201cshow\u201d for patrons, who made special orders to their tables.<\/p>\n

There were \u201cwaitresses with Champagne bottles and little sparklers. They got too close to the ceiling, and suddenly it all caught fire\u201d, one witness, Axel. told the Italian media outlet Local Team.<\/p>\n

Pilloud said investigators would be examining whether the bar met safety standards. Ganzer said images circulating on social media \u201cseem fairly clear\u201d, adding that there were similar flares and sparklers \u201cin every disco in France, Switzerland and Europe\u201d. He said the investigation would determine whether the material of the basement\u2019s ceiling, which some images suggest was covered in a form of cladding, was safe.<\/p>\n

Several sources told Agence France-Presse that the bar\u2019s owners were a couple of French nationals originally from Corsica. According to a relative, the couple are safe but have been unreachable since the tragedy.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople lay flowers and light candles for the victims of the fire in Switzerland. Photograph: Alessandro della Valle\/Keystone via AP <\/p>\n

Residents of Crans-Montana, many of whom knew victims, have been stunned by the disaster. Hundreds of people stood in silence near the scene as they came to pay their respects to the dead and injured on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

On Friday the mound of floral tributes outside Le Constellation bar continued to grow. \u201cRest in peace among the stars,\u201d one of the messages read.<\/p>\n

\u201cI woke up to a loud bang at about 1.30am but then it went silent,\u201d said Fran\u00e7ois, who did not want to give his surname. \u201cI fell back to sleep and then saw the news in the morning. It seems that so many young people have lost their lives. We\u2019ve never experienced anything like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arlino Marchese and his friend Sacha Dimic, from the nearby town of Sierre, were in Crans-Montana to ski on Friday. \u201cWe used to go to Le Constellation a lot when we were younger,\u201d said Dimic. \u201cIt was a good bar, with a good atmosphere and really popular. All those lives gone, it\u2019s terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were people like us,\u201d said Piermarco Pani, an 18-year-old who, like many others in the town, knew the bar well. Dozens of people left flowers or lit candles on a makeshift altar at the top of the road leading to the bar, which police had cordoned off.<\/p>\n

\"AA hearse arrives at the funeral home in Sion. Photograph: Maxime Schmid\/AFP via Getty <\/p>\n

Elisa Sousa (17) said she was meant to have been at Le Constellation on Thursday night but had spent the evening at a family gathering instead. \u201cI\u2019ll need to thank my mother a hundred times for not letting me go,\u201d she said at the vigil.<\/p>\n

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, who visited the mountain resort on Thursday, said the country would hold five days of mourning to mark what he described as one of the most traumatic events in its history. \u2013 Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A local Swiss prosecutor has said the fire inside Le Constellation nightclub in the ski resort of Crans-Montana…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[9,10,13,14,6,11,12,15,16,5,2423,7,8,65,66,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-263590","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-featured-news","11":"tag-featurednews","12":"tag-headlines","13":"tag-latest-news","14":"tag-latestnews","15":"tag-main-news","16":"tag-mainnews","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-switzerland","19":"tag-top-stories","20":"tag-topstories","21":"tag-world","22":"tag-world-news","23":"tag-worldnews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115826208605018301","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}