Flowers and candles on the ground near the site of the fire in the Alpine ski resort town of Crans-Montana on Jan. 1, 2026. (Credit: Maxime Schmid/AFP)
Investigators as of Friday are still working to identify the 40 victims killed in a fire in the Swiss Alps town of Crans-Montana during a New Year's celebration, which injured 115 others.
It is not yet clear what set off the blaze at the venue, Le Constellation.
Bystanders described scenes of panic and chaos as people tried to break the windows to escape, as others, covered in burns, poured into the street.
Swiss police warned it could take days or even weeks to identify everyone, an agonizing wait for family and friends.
"We've tried to reach our friends. We took loads of photos and posted them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible social networks to try to find them," said Eleonore, 17. "But there's nothing. No response."
"Even their parents don't know," she added.
The exact number of people who were at the bar before the fire remains unclear, and police have not specified how many are still missing.
Le Constellation has a capacity of 300 people, plus another 40 people on its terrace, according to the Crans-Montana website.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who took over on Thursday, called the fire "a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions" and announced that flags would be flown at half mast for five days.
"Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, completely interrupted, or forever changed," Parmelin said at a press conference.
"Given the international nature of the Crans resort, we can expect foreign nationals to be among the victims," local police commander Frederic Gisler said.
'The apocalypse'
The fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. Thursday at Le Constellation, a bar popular among young tourists.
The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour that it had not been informed of Lebanese nationals being among the victims. The Lebanese Embassy in Switzerland could not be reached for comment.
"We thought it was just a small fire, but when we got there, it was war," Mathys, from neighboring Chermignon-d'en-Bas, told AFP. "The only word I can use to describe it is: the apocalypse."
Nathan, who was in the bar before the blaze, saw burned people streaming out of the site.
"They were asking for help, crying out for help," he said.
Authorities have declined to speculate on what caused the tragedy, saying only that it was not an attack.
Several witness accounts, broadcast by Swiss, French and Italian media, pointed to sparklers apparently mounted on champagne bottles and held aloft by restaurant staff as part of a regular "show" for patrons who made special orders to their tables.
There were "waitresses with champagne bottles and little sparklers. They got too close to the ceiling, and suddenly it all caught fire," Axel, a witness, told the Italian media outlet Local Team.
The canton's chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said investigators would look into whether the bar met safety standards and had the required number of exits.
Red and white caution tape, flowers and candles flooded the bar's street, as police shielded the site with white screens.
After emergency units at the local hospitals filled up, many of the injured were transported across Switzerland and to neighboring countries.
The European Union said it has been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance, while French President Emmanuel Macron said some of the injured had been transferred to French hospitals.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Italian broadcaster Rete 4 that around 15 Italians had been injured in the fire, and a similar number remained missing.
The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens figured among the injured, and eight others remained unaccounted for.
Multiple sources told AFP that the bar owners are French nationals. A couple originally from Corsica who, according to a relative, are safe but have been unreachable since the tragedy.
