Those who escaped of the devastating bar fire in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while authorities report many of the deceased were so severely injured that identification could take an extended period.
About 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the inferno engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.
“Our primary goal is to put names to all the bodies,” stated local official Nicolas Féraud.
The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unprecedented, terrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing.
Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions scrambled to find out if their citizens were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to strike the country in recent memory.
A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental charts and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so distressing and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.
Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, according to news agencies.
A significant number of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available.
Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.
Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information.
A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “taken aback” by the higher number. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet.
The Italian ambassador said all but five of the injured had now been named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.
The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and additional individuals remained missing. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.
Loved ones have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing.
Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend narrowly missed being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was really in shock,” Martins said.
A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins added.
Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.
“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”
She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.
The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.
“Patients are being stabilised and moved to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be protracted and demanding, lasting many weeks or even many months.”
