Key Highlights
- Authorities are probing whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling complied with safety codes and if the "Bengal light" style sparklers, which emit a fountain of upward-shooting sparks, were permitted for use inside the establishment. Also ReadCrans-Montana mourns: Hundreds gather in freezing temperatures for Swiss bar fire vigil‘People smashing windows... It was like a horror movie’: Witnesses recall deadly Swiss bar fireSwiss ski resort fire on New Year’s eve: What we know so farAll about Crans-Montana: The Swiss ski town rocked by deadly New Year’s Eve bar fireSwiss Alps bar fire: 40 feared dead in Crans-Montana; too early to determine cause The inferno at Le Constellation bar early Thursday killed 40 people and injured 119 others, marking one of the deadliest disasters in modern Swiss history.
- Valais Attorney General Béatrice Pilloud said the investigation will also review fire extinguishers, escape routes, and overall regulatory compliance.
- She warned of potential criminal prosecutions for negligent homicide or arson if liability is established.
- The tragedy has left families in a state of agonising uncertainty.
- Arthur Brodard, 16, from Lausanne, remains among the missing.
