Crans-Montana fire: criticism grows over missing autopsies

Around 40 people died and 116 were seriously injured in a fire in the Le Constellation bar in the Swiss mountain resort of Crans-Montana on New Year’s Eve. Keystone / Cyril Zingaro

Criticism has been mounting over why autopsies were not conducted immediately for some victims of the deadly fire in the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana.

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Around 40 people died and 116 were seriously injured in the fire in the Swiss mountain resort of Crans-Montana on New Year’s Eve.

Romain Jordan is a lawyer who represents several victims’ families. He believes autopsies are essential as relatives would like to know how exactly their loved ones died: “I said this myself to the Office of the Attorney General of canton Valais on the phone at the beginning of the proceedings. The exact cause of death must be determined. Did someone suffocate in the crush? Or was the person simply burned?”

The case of Trystan has attracted particular attention in recent days. The 17-year-old was only autopsied after pressure from his lawyers. His funeral had to be postponed, which caused his family considerable emotional distress.

The family’s lawyer, Jean-Luc Addor, has criticised the public prosecutor’s office: “An autopsy is difficult for parents to cope with anyway. But it shouldn’t have come to the point where we had to insist on it and that it was only conducted after the body had already been handed over to the family.”

The autopsy ultimately revealed death by smoke inhalation.

For experts like the experienced forensic pathologist Ulrich Zolllinger this is not a detail but a key piece of information.

An autopsy is standard practice in such cases, he says: “In a criminal trial, we essentially have a puzzle of evidence: from forensic analysis, videos, eyewitness accounts, and also the condition of the deceased, which can vary greatly in a fire.”

Whether a person died from fire, smoke, or falling debris, all of this can only be determined through forensic medical examinations.

The lack of an autopsy can later influence the criminal proceedings. But it’s also important for the relatives, says Zollinger: “They simply want to know what happened.”

Italy is highly critical

Six Italians died in the deadly blaze. Italy has been extremely critical of alleged failures by the Valais attorney general’s office. “I confirm that none of the deceased Italians underwent an autopsy,” Italy’s ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado told SRF.

In Italy, the public prosecutor’s office has ordered autopsies for the victims. In one case, the body was even exhumed after burial. This has not yet happened in Switzerland, but it cannot be ruled out.

The Valais attorney general’s office is facing mounting criticism for its mistakes. It did not respond to a request for comment from SRF on Friday.

The investigation into the Crans-Montana disaster is still in its early stages. Whether key questions can be answered depends significantly on the initial steps taken after the tragedy.

Adapted from German by AI/sb

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