Those who escaped of the catastrophic bar fire in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units in various European nations, while investigators say many of the deceased were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.
A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions
Approximately 40 people were killed and 115 hurt when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and basement nightclub.
“Our primary goal is to assign names to all the victims,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.
The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, completely interrupted or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin said at a news conference.
Gruelling Identification Process
Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Families of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and diplomatic missions scrambled to determine if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.
A regional leader, 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 information is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.
Hospitals Reach Capacity
Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the fire. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.
Many more 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 offering support.
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 unaccounted for and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.
Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the death toll at 47, based on early data.
A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “surprised” 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 identified. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Some victims were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.
The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and eight others remained unaccounted for. Australia has said a citizen was injured.
Families in Anguish
Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to share images of those unaccounted for.
Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was deeply traumatized,” Martins said.
A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins added.
Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.
“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s no news. 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 university hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.
“Patients are being stabilised and transferred to the operating theatre or to intensive care units,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even many months.”
