Swiss fire horror – claims fireworks set ceiling ablaze – around 40 dead and 115 injured | BBC News

Around 40 people are known to have been killed and 115 injured in the fire that tore through a packed Swiss bar filled with New Year revellers. The blaze began at around 0130 local time at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, high in the Alps in south-west Switzerland. The region is a tourist and skiing destination popular with visitors from across the Europe and beyond.

60 survivors are being treated at hospital in the nearby town of Sion. Others have been transferred to hospitals in other Swiss cities. A doctor at Geneva University Hospitals said patients are suffering from severe, third degree burns and the effects of breathing in smoke. He said many of the patients were "very young… between 15 and 25 years old". A significant number of those injured are in a critical condition

Some witnesses have said that birthday candles or flares carried on top of champagne bottle set fire to the ceiling, starting the blaze. Videos show fire spreading quickly across the bar’s dimly-lit ceiling. However the Swiss Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud said the cause of the blaze was not yet confirmed. She said teams were working to establish answers as quickly as possible. The authorities have ruled out a deliberate attack.

Neighbouring countries Italy and France – as well as the European Union – are providing medical support including the use of hospital burns units. The French foreign ministry has said eight of its citizens remain missing following the fire. Three Italian citizens have been transferred to hospital in Milan while two others in critical condition are being treated in Switzerland.

Survivors have been describing desperate scenes as people trapped inside the building tried to escape the inferno. One man described how he managed to break a window and escape with much of his clothing burned away.
The Swiss President Guy Parmelin said the fire was “one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced”.

Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Sarah Rainsford and Silvia Costeloe.

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