Another person charged in Crans-Montana fire case

The Crans-Montana fire inquiry witnessed drama Keystone / Cyril Zingaro

A dramatic turn of events occurred this Tuesday morning in the Swiss town of Sion: an employee of the municipality of Crans-Montana was notified of his being placed under investigation while being questioned as part of the investigation into the Constellation fire, reveals Swiss public broadcaster RTS.

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A fourteenth person has been charged in the criminal investigation into the Crans-Montana tragedy, RTS’s investigative unit has learned. This individual is an employee of the Valais municipality.

This precautionary measure is unusual. The employee was summoned by the police on Tuesday morning with the status of a person called upon to provide information. This is a hybrid status between a witness and a suspect.

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According to multiple sources, the inspectors interrupted his interrogation late in the morning and contacted the prosecutors in charge of the criminal investigation. They then determined that it was appropriate to question this individual under a new status, that of a defendant.

List of accused grows

After the lunch break, the inspectors informed the employee that he now had the status of a suspect. He then refused to continue the hearing, which ended there.

This employee worked in the Construction Department of the municipality of Chermignon at the time. He therefore closely witnessed the infamous renovation work on the Le Constellation bar in 2015. He now works for the municipality of Crans-Montana, still in the field of construction.

To date, there are therefore 14 people under investigation: the Moretti couple who own the bar, five elected or former elected officials and seven municipal employees.

Adapted from French by AI/mga

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