Mourners pay tribute to Crans-Montana bar fire victims

Hundreds of people pay gathered in silence late on Thursday in Crans-Montana and left candles and flowers in an impromptu memorial near the "Le Constellation" bar. Keystone-SDA

Hundreds of people gathered near the "Le Constellation" bar in Crans-Montana on Thursday evening to pay tribute to the victims of the deadly blaze on New Year's Eve. The fire left around 40 people dead and 115 seriously injured.

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Mourners gathered in silence and left candles and flowers in an impromptu memorial near the bar on Thursday evening. Many people stood motionless, contemplating the scene of New Year’s Eve tragedy. Locals and tourists alike knew some of the people who are now missing or seriously injured.

Swiss authorities say around 40 people died in the blaze that engulfed the bar and around 115 were injured, most of them seriously. Many were young people.

“It’s a bar where we get together with all our friends, really, almost every weekend (…) We thought it was just a little fire, but in the end when we got there it was like a war scene. That’s the only word I can say, apocalypse. It was terrible,” said Mathys, a resident of the neighbouring municipality of Chermignon-d’en-Bas.

“I wasn’t at the scene myself, but I had lots of friends who were, and relatives too,” a young man in mourning told the AFP news agency, giving only his surname, Orosstevic. “Some are dead, others are in hospital. About ten.”

“When I see some people who are in a bad way, I tell them that it’s going to be OK, that it’s happening. There’s nothing else we can do, it’s sad,” he added.

Nearby, groups of friends hugged each other, sobbing. Some stared blankly into space.

No news of missing

“My son could very well have been inside. He wasn’t very far away,” Paulo Martins, a Frenchman who has lived in the resort for 24 years, told AFP.

“He was with his girlfriend; they were supposed to go there. In the end, they never made it,” he added. “When he got home, he was in shock.” A 17-year-old friend of his son’s was transferred to Germany for treatment; 30% of his body is covered in burns.

Mourners laid flowers and candles on a table at the entrance to the road leading to the bar, which was covered by white tarpaulins. Two police officers stood guard outside the security perimeter.

A steady stream of people brought flowers, sometimes a single rose, sometimes a bouquet. As the table filled up, candles were placed on the frozen floor.

Some of those gathered could barely express their emotions. Two young women stood motionless for a long time, bouquet in hand, gathering their courage before making their way through the crowd to the table.

“There are dead and wounded, and someone close to us is still missing. We have no news,” said one of them, wishing to remain anonymous.

“They were young people, people we know,” said another woman, also refusing to give her name. She said she still did not know the fate of some of them. “We’re waiting”.

‘Everyone’s pain’

On this icy evening, the Christmas lights were still twinkling in the city, but most of the bars had closed their doors.

Earlier in the afternoon, at the Montana-Station church, a tribute was paid to the victims during mass. After the service, some worshippers gathered outside to pay their respects, while others walked away with tears in their eyes.

“There were a lot of people there, it was very contemplative, and he gave a beautiful sermon on hope. Let us at least have that: hope,” said Jean-Claude, a local parishioner.

“We just knew a lot of friends who were there,” confided a young man, overwhelmed by emotion.

“It could simply have been my son,” Mina told AFP, tears welling up in her eyes. “Last night, it was pure chance that he wasn’t there. He has a waitress he knows, she serves him all the time, he’s very happy with her, she talks to him for fifteen minutes before serving him, and then she unfortunately left…”

Véronica, an Italian woman who has lived in Crans-Montana for 40 years, declared with tears in her eyes. “Other people’s pain is everyone’s pain.”

Adapted from French by AI/sb

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