Switzerland - 40 dead and 116 injured in fire in bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss ski resort, 1 January 2026

[Herat]

There are SO many places just like that. It goes on, until there is an accident.

The real issue to me, are those deadly "bottle candles", sparklers, whatever they are, those should never be used inside.

What is highly underappreciated is that those sparklers burn at a temperature of 1000-3000 F at their hottest point (usually the top)

Put a 3000 degree item next to flammable foam, liquid, etc and you have a seriously hot conflagration.

 

[Charlot123]

Yes, not arguing with this, either. And not trying to say the situation was harmless.
Just being sad at how many aspects lined up horribly to end up with this death count. And I'm just afraid the legal outcome might not be so very different to causing 1 vs 50 deaths due to negligence.

This very sad part, hopefully, will play some role.

- families from different countries
- presence of kids younger than sixteen

The parents of two British-Israeli sisters who died, one 14 and one 15, very sorry for them, they lost two kids! They have the right to ask the authorities: how come two children below the drinking age were let in? It was the bar's responsibility to check their IDs and send them home.

And, there were other children younger than 16 among those who perished. And no, it is not the parents' fault! Their girls could have joined a company of friends and ended up in the bar with them. But it is the bar's responsibility to check IDs and send the younger ones home. The fact they don't do it means that they are not afraid to lose their license. And then it is on the bar owners, the municipality and the canton. JMO.

 

[Herat]

This very sad part, hopefully, will play some role.

- families from different countries
- presence of kids younger than sixteen

The parents of two British-Israeli sisters who died, one 14 and one 15, very sorry for them, they lost two kids! They have the right to ask the authorities: how come two children below the drinking age were let in? It was the bar's responsibility to check their IDs and send them home.

And, there were other children younger than 16 among those who perished. And no, it is not the parents' fault! Their girls could have joined a company of friends and ended up in the bar with them. But it is the bar's responsibility to check IDs and send the younger ones home. The fact they don't do it means that they are not afraid to lose their license. And then it is on the bar owners, the municipality and the canton. JMO.

I believe those under age 16 are allowed to enter a bar in Switzerland if accompanied by an adult or legal guardian, but they are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages there.

I don't think any of those reported deaths or those with severe injuries were accompanied by adults or their legal guardians.

So the presence of a person under age 16 is not strictly forbidden. Finding proof they were accompanied by an adult or legal guardian may be much more difficult.

I wonder how many of the employees at Le Constellation that night were killed or severely injured.

 

[mickey2942]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/04/europe/switzerland-bar-fire-teenagers-victims-intl

This article discusses the issue of underage teens at the club. Everyone with a color printer now, can make an excellent fake ID in a heartbeat. It isn't like going to a club is like going through TSA, show something that looks like a student ID card with a picture, DOB, and name, there you go.

Teens always can get a fake ID, borrow an older siblings ID, make one. It was New Year's Eve, they probably were not checking too much either.

 

[Charlot123]

I believe those under age 16 are allowed to enter a bar in Switzerland if accompanied by an adult or legal guardian, but they are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages there.

I don't think any of those reported deaths or those with severe injuries were accompanied by adults or their legal guardians.

So the presence of a person under age 16 is not strictly forbidden. Finding proof they were accompanied by an adult or legal guardian may be much more difficult.

I wonder how many of the employees at Le Constellation that night were killed or severely injured.

OK if the Morettis have very good lawyers they may beat “underage minors” issue although all ages and names of all victims, alive or not, are known

But they can’t beat the issue of «the lounge” having about 200 people that night, the second exit being locked, no fire alarm, no sprinklers…

 

[Yellowbelly]

The local council admits that they hadn't inspected the place for five years.

Ski bar not checked for five years before deadly fire, Swiss officials say, as they ban sparklers

Forty people were killed and 116 injured when a fire tore through a popular bar in Crans-Montana on New Year's Eve. The youngest victims were 14.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Sarahlou]

The local council admits that they hadn't inspected the place for five years.

Ski bar not checked for five years before deadly fire, Swiss officials say, as they ban sparklers

Forty people were killed and 116 injured when a fire tore through a popular bar in Crans-Montana on New Year's Eve. The youngest victims were 14.

www.bbc.co.uk

From this article:

They also announce a ban on the use of sparklers in local venues - sparklers on bottles carried too close to the ceiling were the likely cause of the fire, a preliminary investigation has found

Well that's one good thing.

He says that there is a team of just five people who do "immense work" and carry out checks in the area, looking after more than 10,000 buildings, including restaurants and hotels.

5 people for 10k buildings?

 

[detective.moon]

there was a press conference with the mayor this morning. some snippets from the srf live blog.

What about the other restaurants run by the couple?

The operating license for a restaurant in Crans-Montana has been revoked. “The restaurant in Crans-Montana has been closed,” says Féraud. The couple runs another restaurant in a different municipality. However, according to the mayor, this is not the responsibility of the municipal council.

Were the soundproofing foam mats certified?

“We don't know,” says the mayor. The safety officer was of the opinion that the mats did not need to be inspected.

Did the authorities turn a blind eye?

It was only a matter of time before such a disaster happened in the bar, says a journalist, asking: Did the authorities turn a blind eye during their inspections?

“No, absolutely not,” says Nicolas Féraud, mayor of Crans-Montana. “We would have been happy to receive reports. But we didn't.”

“You are victims of this tragedy, yet at the same time you bear responsibility for it. Will you resign from office?” asks an Italian journalist. “No, it's not a question of resigning. You don't abandon a sinking ship,” replies Mayor Féraud.

Why were the checks not carried out?

A journalist asks the mayor why these checks were not carried out. “We don't know, we can't explain it,” says Nicolas Féraud. The investigations will provide some answers.

Another journalist asks whether the mayor has spoken to the employees responsible for the security checks and what they said. Féraud does not want to comment on this question.

Did the inspectors know the bar operators?

“As far as I know, the inspectors did not know the bar operators. There were no personal relationships,” says Nicolas Féraud, mayor.

Neither the mayor nor the municipal council had any relationship with the bar operators.

Do you feel guilty, Mr. Mayor?

“This week has been very, very difficult. It's something you can't imagine,” says Nicolas Féraud. “I will carry this burden with me forever, the grief of these families, for the rest of my life.”

That concludes the press conference.

Katastrophe in Crans-Montana - Gemeinde: «Die Kontrollen wurden nicht richtig durchgeführt»

Die Gemeinde Crans-Montana äusserte sich zum ersten Mal zu der Katastrophe. Sie räumt mangelhafte Kontrollen ein.

www.srf.ch

 

[Dotta]

"Swiss mayor admits inferno bar had not been inspected for FIVE YEARS ​

and issues grovelling apology.​

Speaking to a press conference on Tuesday,
Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Feraud said
that no safety inspections had been carried out since 2019 at Le Constellation bar in the Swiss ski resort.

'We are profoundly sorry.
We did not have an indication that the checks had not been done.
We regret that - we owe it to the families
and we will accept the responsibility'.

The mayor added
that the sound-proof foam used in the bar was considered acceptable at the time.

He also said that there is a team of just five people
who do 'immense work' and carry out checks in the area,
looking after more than 10,000 buildings, including restaurants and hotels.

The local council are looking at why this happened,
which will include a full audit of all venues in the area and ensure more checks are carried out,
Mr Feraud said.

He also said that it is
'down to the judges' to determine who is responsible."

Swiss mayor admits inferno bar had not been inspected for FIVE YEARS

The mayor of Crans Montana has admitted that the party venue had not had any safety checks for five years.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[detective.moon]

yikes, some people around the bar owners have been acting threatening towards journalists

The atmosphere in Crans-Montana VS is tense. On Sunday, a Blick reporter was harassed in front of another restaurant owned by Jacques Moretti (49), the owner of Inferno. Now his colleagues have apparently also attacked Italian journalists.

Angespannte Lage in Crans-Montana: Reporter angepöbelt

In Crans-Montana VS liegen die Nerven blank. Am Wochenende wurde bereits ein Blick-Reporter vor einem Restaurant des Inferno-Wirts Jacques Moretti angegriffen. Nun attackierte das Umfeld des Betreibers auch italienische Journalisten.

www.blick.ch

there’s a video the reporter made in the article. it’s in french with german subtitles. basically the group is walking towards the filming reporter who then wants to introduce himself and an employee tells him something like “stop filming, stop talking, we don’t care who you are, we’re all mourning, go away”. and apparently after he stops filming a woman tells him he’s nothing but a piece of . to be clear they are not touching him or anything but you can tell it’s not an ehh friendly vibe.

 

[mickey2942]

Wow. No inspections for FIVE YEARS?! So much for respect for Swiss regulations.

Makes me wonder about the ski resorts. When was the last time the ski lifts were inspected? Is Switzerland just a mess of accidents waiting to happen?!

 

[Dotta]

Wow. No inspections for FIVE YEARS?! So much for respect for Swiss regulations.

Makes me wonder about the ski resorts. When was the last time the ski lifts were inspected? Is Switzerland just a mess of accidents waiting to happen?!

IMO

This is the perfect example of a saying
"rest on laurels"
meaning being satisfied with former successes and lacking further motivation.

A person who "rests on one's laurels"
stops striving for new achievements,
relying instead on previous successes and suggesting a lack of ambition and stagnation.

By the way
Isn't this ski resort organizing some kind of international Skiing Championship soon?



Phew!

Oh,
another saying comes to mind:

"King is naked"!!!

(From the classic fable "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Andersen)

JMO

 

[MelmothTheLost]

By the way
Isn't this ski resort organizing some international Skiing Championship soon?

Yes, later this month.

Home

www.skiworldcup-cransmontana.ch

 

[Dotta]

Yes, later this month.

Home

www.skiworldcup-cransmontana.ch

World Cup!!!
Wow!
Thanks!

Honestly, you just couldn't make it up!

 

[MelmothTheLost]

It has obviously emerged now that the bar/club was known to be somewhere underage teens could drink, and that this was not a secret in the town. It rather raises the question of whether the parents of the teens knew where their kids were going and whether they approved, tacitly or otherwise, of them going to the bar/club.

 

[detective.moon]

discussion in swiss national politics about whether sparklers etc should be banned inside..

In Switzerland, sparklers, or colloquially known as Wunderkerzen, are classified as Class 1 fireworks. This means they are considered “cold-burning pyrotechnics.” As a result, they are also permitted indoors.

However, following the devastating fire in Valais, SP National Council member Gabriela Suter believes that new regulations are needed for these spray candles. After all, they are not essential for a party. “That's why I would welcome regulation or even a ban,” says Suter.

Green Party National Council member Meret Schneider considers a general nationwide ban on indoor pyrotechnics to be excessive. Sparklers on birthday cakes in restaurants should be allowed.

“However, a ban should be considered in discos or other venues where large numbers of people are crowded together indoors,” says Schneider.

Matthias Michel, FDP member of the Council of States and president of the relevant commission, says he can understand why Crans-Montana as a municipality is now imposing a ban on fireworks. However, he believes the call for a ban is premature: “Before calling for new rules, we need to clarify exactly what led to the disaster,” he emphasizes.

https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/katastrophe-von-crans-montana-muessen-spruehkerzen-in-innenraeumen-verboten-werden

gosh, i understand allowing a birthday candle or a simple old fashioned sparkler, but i don’t understand still wanting to allow these roman candles/wunderkerzen.

 

[mickey2942]

It has obviously emerged now that the bar/club was known to be somewhere underage teens could drink, and that this was not a secret in the town. It rather raises the question of whether the parents of the teens knew where their kids were going and whether they approved, tacitly or otherwise, of them going to the bar/club.

Teens are great at telling parents one thing, and doing something else.

It really doesn't matter, no one expects to go to a club, and get burned to death. It is not the fault of the patrons of the club that the place was a fire trap.

And even the owners of the club probably never anticipated a worker while holding a bottle of champagne, with a bottle candle, to get up on the shoulders of a tall man, and hold up the bottle with a flaming sparkler on it hitting the ceiling. It was stupid.

But that is the way accidents happen, a combination of items that separately don't seem dangerous, but put together created this occurrence. Tragedy of errors.

 

[PrairieWind]

I enjoy fireworks, but using sparklers indoors, especially in a bar or restaurant just seems insane to me.

 

[mickey2942]

I enjoy fireworks, but using sparklers indoors, especially in a bar or restaurant just seems insane to me.

It does. Yet I have personally been at restaurants that do this very thing. Usually it was on a birthday cake, to celebrate some event. And everyone joined in singing "Happy Birthday", while the staff surrounded the cake and flaming candle, surreptitiously snuffing the almost spent candle in a small carafe of water.

I never thought, "OMG, we are going to DIE!!!". It was just part of a festive experience. I never have gone into a club, checking out the fire escapes, or searching for fire extinguishers. I may be more aware now, but it probably won't change our lives.

I went to a movie the other day, and we completely enjoyed the experience. Overpriced popcorn, and all. I didn't think about where the escape route is located. Who could live this way?!

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Cripes

The moment a sparkler almost set Swiss bar on fire six years before inferno killed 40 people at the same venue​

This is the chilling moment a staff member at the Swiss ski bar that went up in flames begged revellers to keep sparklers away from its roof foam on New Year's Eve in 2019.

The warning occurred six years before the inferno in Le Constellation nightclub that killed 40 people and left 116 injured, many with severe, third-degree burns.

'Watch out for the foam, watch out for the foam,' the waiter can he heard shouting in the video, as a sparkler in a bottle dangerously approaches the ceiling.

The footage was sent to Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) by a guest at Le Constellation in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, who was present at the evening in 2019.

Video shows Swiss bar staff begging revellers to keep sparklers away

'Watch out for the foam, watch out for the foam,' the waiter can he heard shouting, as a sparkler in a bottle approaches the ceiling dangerously.

www.dailymail.co.uk