Switzerland - "Several dozen" dead and about 100 injured in explosion in bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss ski resort, 1 January 2026

[MelmothTheLost]

Why would 15 year old teens be admitted? No bouncer? Or are there rules that youngsters can enter but not drink?

One source mentioned earlier in the thread reported that it was supposed to be an event for under-17s, although there were also people there in the 18-30 age range. Maybe the older people were employees of the bar. Corriere della Sera (Italian paper) has a story about a mother whose 16 year old son was believed to be at the bar but who has not been in contact since the fire.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

According to the Mail:

The bar is owned by a French couple aged 49 and 40, who have lived in the valley for almost a decade, according to French broadcaster BFMTV citing a source close to the investigation.

Moment ceiling catches fire, killing 47 people at Swiss club

Witnesses described seeing people burning and suffocating to death as they raced to escape the 'horror movie'.

www.dailymail.co.uk

It sounds as though the bar changed hands around 2015 or 2016.

 

[MollyHarps]

This is just horrific. I really do not like these sparkler type candles - they seem to have become more fashionable in the UK recently and you often see restaurants using them on birthday cakes etc. such a fire hazard.

I can’t begin to imagine what the victims families are going through.

 

[Dotta]

"Swiss President Guy Parmelin
described the disaster as
'one of the worst tragedies that our country has ever known'
and said most of the dead were young people.

'What was meant to be a moment of joy turned,
on the first day of the year in Crans-Montana,
into mourning that touches the entire country and far beyond',
Mr Parmelin said on the social media platform X.

Authorities warned
that naming the victims or establishing a definitive death toll would take time
because many of the ‍bodies were badly burned.
Experts were using dental and DNA records to try to identify the dead.

Foreign governments were calling around
to establish whether their nationals were among the victims
but were facing a lengthy process
because the severity of the burns had rendered identification challenging,
one European official said.

'We met the families this afternoon
and it's terrible
because to be in front of them with all their fear and apprehension and terrible anxiety
and we don’t ⁠have all ‍the answers.
It’s a terrible situation on the ground. Unimaginable',
Mathias Reynard, president of the Valais cantonal government, said,
his voice breaking.

Crans-Montana is due to host next year's Alpine World Ski Championships."

Around 40 people killed and 115 injured in Swiss bar fire

Around 40 people, including many youths, were killed and 115 others injured after a fire tore through a crowded bar during a New Year's Eve party in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, officials have said.

www.rte.ie

 

[Dotta]

"King Charles and Queen Camilla​

'greatly saddened' by Swiss club fire.​

King Charles said in a statement today:

'My wife and I were appalled, and greatly saddened,
to learn of the devastating fire last night in Crans-Montana, in Switzerland.

It is utterly heartbreaking that a night of celebration for young people and families
instead turned to such nightmarish tragedy.

While offering our admiration for the heroic first responders and the selfless emergency services,
we wanted, above all, to convey our deepest possible sympathy to all those who have been so dreadfully affected by this horrific disaster.

Our most heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of all those who have so tragically lost their lives
and with those who remain in a critical condition in hospital'."

King Charles 'heartbroken' after Swiss resort NYE party tragedy

RECAP: King Charles has offered his sympathies to the 47 people killed and 115 injured after a devastating fire ripped through a luxury ski resort in Switzerland.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Lebowski]

Purple bolding mine.
Hmmm.
Like the Rhode Island soundproofing foam ?
Imo.

CNN.com - Seller: Club bought foam that wasn't flame-resistant - Feb. 28, 2003

WEST WARWICK, Rhode Island (CNN) --"... The owners of The Station nightclub, where a fire killed dozens of people last week, bought soundproofing foam that was not flame-resistant, a foam company said Friday...."

this incident ^^ was my first thought

i will never understand what possesses people to set off pyrotechnics indoors

 

[Rikissa]

Why would 15 year old teens be admitted? No bouncer? Or are there rules that youngsters can enter but not drink?

In Europe there is a difference between the legal drinking age and the legal purchasing age of alcoholic beverages. All countries have strict rules when it comes to selling alcohol to underage persons, in most countries it's 18, although there are countries where 16-year-olds can buy beer, cider, and sometimes wine, but for hard liquor the age limit is 18.

Regarding the legal drinking age, in many countries there are no minimum drinking age in private, and in some countries neither in public, it's up to the parents when it comes to underage drinking.
Switzerland has no minimum drinking age, not in private, nor in public.

Legal drinking age - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Dotta]

"Officials say ​

they do not know how many people were in Le Constellation bar when blaze began.​

General attorney Beatrice Pilloud said
she did not know the capacity of the Alpine bar
when queried about how many people were inside at the time of the tragedy.

The muncapality president of Crans-Montana, Nicolas Feraud,
previously said officials were not privy to how many people were at the venue when fire started.

Nearly two dozen teenagers and young adults seriously injured by fire.

Local media reported that at least 22 of those who were seriously injured in the fire were between 16 and 26.

They were airlifted to the University Hospital of Lausanne,
its director Claire Charmet said.

The hospital is one of just two in the country that has the facilities to treat severe burns,
the other being in Zurich.

Charmet said
most of the victims have burns that cover over 20% of their bodies.

She warned that their recovery will take weeks,
if not months."

King Charles 'heartbroken' after Swiss resort NYE party tragedy

RECAP: King Charles has offered his sympathies to the 47 people killed and 115 injured after a devastating fire ripped through a luxury ski resort in Switzerland.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2006886852016410875

 

[Lucy6226]

This is just horrific. I really do not like these sparkler type candles - they seem to have become more fashionable in the UK recently and you often see restaurants using them on birthday cakes etc. such a fire hazard.

I can’t begin to imagine what the victims families are going through.

I've also seen these being used in restaurants for birthday celebrations or even in cocktails. As a person scared by the 80's adverts for sparkler safety around bonfire night, they make me extremely nervous. I can't imagine thinking it would be safe to start moving an object around with one in, especially in a flammable building! But high spirits and alcohol cause people to make devastating decisions.

 

[Cryptic]

A basement bar with a low ceiling covered in acoustic foam, and they start waving sparklers about. I mean, it beggars belief really, doesn't it.

Objectively, absolutely. Subjectively, however, I am not surprised.

Mix New Years night with hundreds of young people in varying degrees of intoxication from a variety of substances, likely hugely inadequate behavioral controls / security..... I can easily see things start to "snowball" behavior wise very quickly.

 

[Parsnip]

Objectively, absolutely. Subjectively, however, I am not surprised.

Mix New Years night with hundreds of young people in varying degrees of intoxication from a variety of substances, likely hugely inadequate behavioral controls / security..... I can easily see things start to "snowball" behavior wise quickly.

In short, subjectively, I am not surprised at all.

Well said, @Cryptic , and I think others before you, too. The young people were not well-situated to regulate themselves that night. And their youthful exuberance could have been anticipated and planned for much better by older and wiser folk, imo.

 

[Parsnip]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2006886852016410875

Fwiw, @Dotta , a review search turns up a fair number of venues with similar characteristics, use of these blasted sparklrers, and limited fire safety measures in Switzerland. I believe new fire safety measures are slated to go into place this year there. There seems to be a cultural norm at play, though I can’t put my finger on what it is. Moo.

 

[Parsnip]

But the survivors are allowed to feel weak.
They are allowed to be weak, sad, angry, devastated, depressed, anxious, shocked. They may feel anything and everything they feel.



I am so angry on behalf of all the victims and thejr families. It wasn't an accident, IMO, because it was negligence.

I agree with you, @ChatteringBirds . The victims will feel how they feel. My wish was more of a reflection of my understanding of what is to come for them rather than a prescriptive sentiment. Moo.

 

[Cryptic]

There seems to be a cultural norm at play, though I can’t put my finger on what it is. Moo.

You may be onto something.

I know nothing about Swiss society. But..... decades ago, a supervisor I had informed me that individual cantons can be fiercely traditional / independent.

Some of that tradition maybe based on a "Mountaineers are always free" (US Appalachian slogan) type approach that extends to opposition on what locals could see as over regulation.

For example, West Virginians may have a different view of how much regulations are needed than say, Massachusetts. This could then translate into fewer safety regulations in WV as "Mountaineers are always free"- in many ways, including from what locals could see as oppressive regulations.

Again, all the above is just a guess. I have never lived in Switzerland.

 

[Parsnip]

You may be onto something.

I know nothing about Swiss society. But..... decades ago, a supervisor I had informed me that individual cantons can be fiercely traditional / independent.

Some of that tradition maybe based on a "Mountaineers are always free" (US Appalachian slogan) type approach that extends to opposition on what locals could see as over regulation.

For example, West Virginians may have a different view of how much regulations are needed than say, Massachusetts. This could then translate into fewer safety regulations in WV as "Mountaineers are always free"- in many ways, including from what locals could see as oppressive regulations.

Again, all the above is just a guess. I have never lived in Switzerland.

Exactly. Something like that seems to be at play. Like the difference between Vermont and New Hampshire. Kissing cousins with wildly different norms, ime.

 

[LadyL]

same thing happened in an Amsterdam historic church - there are reports that fireworks caused it

 

[browneyes]

This is such a tragic and preventable situation. There should never be anything larger than one birthday candle lit in an establishment. I have hated fireworks and sparklers since I was a child and my biggest worry would have been someone intoxicated burning me, much less the whole ceiling catching on fire. I hope fire regulations stop this insanity of celebrating with open flame indoors. My thoughts and prayers to all affected by this. I see big lawsuits in the bar owners future as well. But nothing can fix this horrifying tragedy.

 

[Cryptic]

I see big lawsuits in the bar owners future as well.

Maybe, but maybe not. The US lawsuit norm is not the global norm.

Though I believe that lawsuits can be very difficult to place in Japan, I have no idea about Switzerland. It could even come down to the individual Canton. The full name of the country is The Swiss Confederation. This might imply alot of variation between Cantons.

 

[Cryptic]

Were they violating (ETA: local) safety codes/laws with use of these sparklers in that building?

They may well of been in violation of several things.

But, the "they" might not of been inclined to think about various standards, codes and laws at the time. Some reports mention sparklers, others imply that there could have been only one couple. The sparkler(s) may have been "smuggled" into the club by young people with out the owners knowing.

In either case, the "They" could well consist of:

A young couple / people having sparklers on them and then making impulsive decisions as midnight struck on New Years Eve.