Municipality of Crans-Montana apologises to fire victims’ families

The deputy mayor said that any mistakes and shortcomings will emerge from the ongoing investigation, but ruled out resigning. Keystone-SDA

The deputy mayor of the municipality of Crans-Montana, Nicole Bonvin Clivaz, has offered apologies and asked for forgiveness from families of the victims of the fire that ripped through a bar in Crans-Montana on New Year's Day.

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Bonvin Clivaz acknowledged in an interview with Swiss public television RTS that any mistakes and shortcomings will emerge from the ongoing investigation. However, the executive of the municipality has ruled out resigning, she told RTS on Friday following a memorial service for the 40 people, many of them minors, who died in the fire.

“We want to support [the families] as best we can,” she said. “We will do everything we can to ensure that this does not happen again.”

On Friday, Switzerland held a minute of silence for the victims of the fire, as church bells rang out across the country:

Earlier in the week, the municipality gave a press conference during which no such apology was made, a move that was widely criticised.

“Today it is necessary to formulate [apologies]. In the heat of the action, we are clumsy,” explained Bonvin Clivaz, noting that “it is not common to experience such a situation. It really took a lot of courage to face it. And we will need it again.”

Bonvin Clivaz acknowledged the responsibility of the municipality, in particular for the absence of inspections since 2019 in the bar devastated by the flames. “We have a responsibility regarding this shortcoming,” she said, adding the investigation should reveal why this was the case. “Today we do not have the real answers.”

+ Crans-Montana tragedy highlights limits of Swiss federal system

The town executive does not intend to resign: “The question has not come up at all – quite the opposite,” she said. “We are working hard.” The deputy mayor added she understood that the municipality is in the line of fire. “Every day, we receive insulting e-mails. But it is understandable, and normal. We are going to correct this. We were wrong, and now we will do the right thing,” she said.

Translated from Italian with AI/gw

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