Switzerland Bar Fire: Death count rises to 47
The death toll from a devastating New Year’s Day fire at a Swiss ski resort has risen to 47, police said
Bern: The death toll from a devastating New Year’s Day fire at a Swiss ski resort has risen to 47, police said.
The fire broke out shortly after midnight at Le Constellation, a basement venue filled with hundreds of mostly young revellers in the Alpine resort of Crans Montana. Authorities said many of the injured suffered severe burns.
At a press conference in Crans-Montana, Valais Cantonal Police Commander Frederic Gisler on Thursday said that authorities responded swiftly after a fire was reported at a bar in the area.
According to Gisler, smoke was first seen coming from the bar in the centre of the Swiss ski resort at around 1:30 am. Moments later, a witness contacted the emergency call centre to report the incident. A red alert was immediately issued to mobilise firefighting services, he added.
The first teams from the Crans-Montana intercommunal police and the gendarmerie reached the scene at 1:32 am, and were soon joined by additional emergency responders, CNN reported.
“Their initial assignment was obviously to take care of the victims, to provide them emergency help,” Gisler said. He noted that firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze quickly. “Following that, the initial investigations were able to start,” he said.
Reception centres were later set up to assist those affected by the incident, and a helpline was launched at 4:14 am to provide information and support to families.
“All of the injured people had received care by shortly after 5 am, thanks to this widescale mobilisation,” CNN quoted Gisler as saying.
