Swiss bar fire likely started by sparklers on champagne bottles, says prosecutor

Around 40 people are dead and 119 seriously injured after a fire tore through the "Le Constellation" bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana in southern Switzerland on January 1, police say. Keystone / Jean-Christophe Bott

Initial investigations ⁠suggest that ⁠the deadly fire that ripped through a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana on January 1 started when lit sparklers attached to champagne bottles were carried too close to the ceiling, the prosecutor said on Friday. The inferno killed 40 people and seriously injured 119, many of them teenagers.

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At a press conference on Friday afternoon, Swiss officials put the New Year’s Eve death toll in the “Le Constellation” bar at 40 and 119 severely injured, of whom 113 have been formally identified. Almost three-quarters are Swiss nationals (71), followed by 14 French nationals, 11 Italians and four Serbs, the police said.

An investigation is continuing to determine the cause of what Swiss President Guy Parmelin has called “one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies”.

The deadly blaze occurred in the crowded bar at around 1.30am on January 1, Valais police say. Officials are “pursuing several hypotheses” and “currently assume the fire was caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling”, prosecutor Béatrice Pilloud ​told reporters on Friday.

Since the tragedy, videos have been circulating on social media showing several people in the bar with champagne bottles with lit sparklers. While this hypothesis was likely, it was not yet confirmed, and an investigation is continuing.

“From there, a rapid, very rapid and widespread conflagration ensued,” Pilloud said.

The investigation was also checking whether the bar ceiling’s insulation foam was to blame for the rapid spread of the fire, she said. The probe will also focus on previous renovations at the
⁠bar and the materials used, the ‍availability of adequate fire extinguishing systems and escape routes, and the number of people who were in the bar when the fire started.

Further investigations will show if anyone needs to be held criminally liable for negligence, Pilloud added. The two French managers of the bar have been interviewed.

The fire began at around 1.30am on January 1 in the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, according to Swiss police. Keystone-SDA

The attorney general said many witnesses had been interviewed and telephones which were found will be analysed. The forensic institute in Zurich has already been given a mandate to carry out an investigation to determine the cause of the fire. Interviews helped establish a list of who was present during the incident.

Priority: formal identification of victims

The authorities’ priority over the coming days remains the formal identification of the 40 victims so that their bodies can be returned rapidly to their families.

But Swiss authorities have warned that naming the victims or establishing a definitive death toll will take time because many of the bodies were badly burned.

“All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” said Mathias Reynard, president of the government of canton Valais. Experts were using dental and DNA samples to identify the victims, he said.

Meanwhile, many of those injured are still fighting for their lives, Reynard said. The injured have been transported to various hospitals across Switzerland, including Sion, Lausanne, Bern, Geneva and Zurich. In Sion, 55 people with severe injuries were being looked after. Of these, 13 were able to return home and 11 remain at the hospital in Sion. Twenty-eight were then transferred to other Swiss hospitals or foreign hospitals.

Around 50 of the injured have been, or will be, transferred to burn units in hospitals elsewhere in Europe, such as France, Germany, Poland and Italy.

Trapped in basement

Le Constellation is a large bar in Crans-Montana that has existed for several years. It can reportedly hold up to 300 people and has a small terrace, although it is not clear how many people were present on New Year’s Eve.

Media have published various witness accounts of events. One man told the news agency AFP that he was trapped in the burning building and had to break a window to escape.

“We were trapped, a lot of people were trapped. We couldn’t see because of the smoke,” he said. “We didn’t know how we were going to get out.”

>>In this short video, witnesses in Crans-Montana describe how they escaped the blaze in the Le Constellation bar and give their reactions to the tragedy.

He went on: “I was alone and didn’t know how I could do it, but I managed to break a window and get out through the window… half of my clothes were gone, it was crazy.

“I was in the basement. Me and my friends were having fun, unfortunately some of our friends are no longer with us because of the fire.

>>In this short video, Laeticia Plass describes how she escaped the blaze in the Le Constellation bar.

Meanwhile, parents, relatives and friends of missing youths have issued pleas for news of their loved ones, many via social media.

“I have been searching for my son for 30 hours. The wait is unbearable,” Laetitia, the mother of missing 16-year-old Arthur, told BFM TV, saying she was desperate to know if he was alive or dead, and where.

“If he’s in the hospital, I don’t know which hospital he’s in. If he’s in the morgue, I don’t know which morgue he’s in. If my son is alive, he’s alone in the hospital, and I can’t be by his side.”

‘In total shock’

“People here are in total shock,” said Swiss public TV (SRF) reporter Anna-Lisa Achtermann from Crans-Montana.

“Many of the victims are believed to be tourists. Crans-Montana is a ski resort and it’s peak season,” said Achtermann. Locals report that the bar where the fire raged was particularly popular with 16- to 25-year-olds.

View inside the “Le Constellation” bar where the fire broke out early on January 1. POLIZEI VS

Crans-Montana, in canton Valais, is popular with international visitors, especially French and Italian, but it is also home to about 10,000 residents.

Residents and holidaymakers were stunned by the inferno. Hundreds of people stood in silence near the scene as they came to pay their respects to ​the victims late on Thursday night. Mourners left candles and flowers in an impromptu memorial near the bar. Hundreds of others prayed for the victims at the nearby Church of Montana-Station.

An official ceremony will be held in Crans-Montana on Friday January 9 for people to mourn together. A book of condolences will also be put online from Saturday for anyone who wants to share a message of support to those who have been impacted by the fire.

State of emergency

The Valais government has declared a state of emergency following the blaze. This is intended to ensure that all necessary resources can be mobilised as quickly as possible.

The cantonal and municipal police, the regional fire service and helicopters were rushed to the scene immediately after an alert was given just after 1.30am. Authorities said 13 helicopters, 42 ‍ambulances and 3 “disaster trucks” had been mobilised.

The area has been completely closed off, and a no-fly zone has been imposed ​over Crans-Montana, which is located in canton Valais in the heart of the Swiss Alps.

A telephone helpline has been set up on: 00 41 84 811 21 17.

International reactions

Parmelin thanked countries that have offered support in the wake of the fire – pointing specifically to neighbouring France, Germany and Italy. Other countries have offered help, including Poland, Croatia and Israel.

Parmelin said the authorities are carrying out investigations into “the exact circumstances” of this incident.

“We owe it to victims”, their families and all Swiss citizens, he said.

He added that flags will be flown at half mast in Bern for five days. A “tragedy of such a scale” must not happen again, he said.

Residents of Crans-Montana and holidaymakers have been stunned by the deadly inferno at the resort bar. Keystone / Jean-Christophe Bott

Reactions to the tragedy have also been flooding in from abroad.

The British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said on X: “Our thoughts are with all those injured and killed in the terrible tragedy in Crans-Montana, and we pay tribute to the Swiss emergency services who are leading the response. We will continue to monitor the situation, and our consular staff stand ready to support any British nationals who may be affected.”

The US Embassy in Bern said it was “deeply saddened” by the tragic blaze. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives, those who were injured, and their loved ones,” it said.

French President Emmanuel Macron also shared his “deep emotion” following the fire in Crans-Montana: “My thoughts go to the bereaved families and the injured. To Switzerland, to its people and to its authorities, I convey the full solidarity of France and our fraternal support.”

Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said he had been in touch with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis. “I remain in contact with the Italian Ambassador who is arriving at the scene of the incident with staff from the Geneva consulate. Verifications are underway for any possible involvement of our compatriots. The Farnesina’s crisis unit and diplomatic offices in Switzerland are collaborating with the Swiss police.”

>>News report from Swiss public broadcaster RTS (in French) on January 1, 12.45pm:

Adapted and updated by Simon Bradley

This article was first been published on January 1, 2026, at 9.25am.

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