Survivors of the devastating bar fire in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units across Europe, while authorities report many of the dead were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.
A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale
Approximately 40 people were killed and 115 hurt when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.
“Our primary goal is to assign names to all the bodies,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.
The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing.
Gruelling Identification Process
So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was exceptionally difficult. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and foreign embassies worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.
Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental records and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so distressing and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he explained.
Overwhelmed Medical Systems
Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the fire. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.
A significant number of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU said 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 medical capacity available.
A Multinational Tragedy
Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are missing and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.
Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the death toll at 47, based on preliminary information.
A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “taken aback” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet.
The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been identified. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.
The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and additional individuals remained unaccounted for. Australia has said a citizen was injured.
Families in Anguish
Relatives and friends have been working desperately to find their missing family members, using social media to share images 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 deeply traumatized,” Martins told reporters.
A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins added.
Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary barriers, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.
“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”
She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.
Treatment Will Be Lengthy
The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.
“Patients are being stabilised and transferred to the surgery or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be protracted and demanding, lasting several weeks or even months.”
