Switzerland declares five-day mourning after deadly resort fire

Switzerland declared five days of mourning following an “unprecedented” fire that engulfed a crowded bar, killing around 40 people and injuring 115 during a New Year’s Eve celebration at the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana.

President Guy Parmelin called the blaze one of the most traumatic events in Switzerland’s history, Caliber.Az reports, citing The Guardian.

“It was a drama of an unknown scale,” he noted, paying tribute to the many “young lives that were lost and interrupted”.

The blaze broke out around 1:30 a.m. local time on New Year’s Day at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, a busy ski resort in the Swiss Alps popular with young tourists and winter visitors.

Officials said the venue was crowded with revelers when the fire rapidly spread through the basement and narrow exits, complicating evacuation efforts.

Swiss authorities and investigators ruled out terrorism or deliberate attack, and early indications focused on an accidental ignition — possibly from sparklers or a firework-like device touching the wooden ceiling — though the exact cause is still under formal investigation.

Hospitals in the region were overwhelmed as emergency services, including helicopters and ambulances, transported burn victims and the critically injured to multiple medical centers, while authorities mobilized a state of emergency to coordinate rescue and identification efforts.

By Jeyhun Aghazada