About 40 killed in fire at Swiss resort of Crans-Montana

Myriam Balezou, Bloomberg News on Jan 1, 2026

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Swiss police said about 40 people were killed and 115 injured after a fire broke out in a bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana during New Year celebrations.

The town, in the canton of Valais, is a popular tourism location, and France and Italy said that some of their citizens are among the injured. Local officials say the blaze was the result of an accident.

The fire broke out in Le Constellation bar in the early hours of Thursday morning. Eyewitnesses told French broadcaster BFMTV that a candle on a bottle that was held too high ignited the ceiling. The flames, along with black smoke, quickly spread, they said.

Police and emergency services were alerted around 1:30 a.m., and rushed to the scene to help. Cantonal police chief Frederic Gisler said the first officers arrived within two minutes.

Police have cordoned off the area and are investigating the cause.

There were media reports of an explosion at the scene, but local authorities said this was caused by the blaze rather than the other way around.

Beatrice Pilloud, Valais attorney general, said investigators have retrieved some phones and are conducting interviews with witnesses. One part of the work will be to see if the venue had the correct safety procedures and emergency exits.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said he’s “confident” that the investigation will be carried out in a “professional manner.”

The injured were taken to local hospitals, as well as facilities in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich. Some may be transferred to neighboring countries given strains on health services in Switzerland from the scale of the tragedy.

Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, told RaiNews24 television that 12-15 Italian citizens were hospitalized following the fire. A further 16 are missing. Parmelin said he has been in contact with a number of foreign leaders, including from France and Italy.

The Swiss president also said that what happened is “one of the worst tragedies that our country has ever known.”

Crans-Montana is a well-known ski and hiking area and hosts World Cup ski races. In a statement, the area’s tourism authorities said it was a day of “deep sadness,” and it thanked emergency services and others who helped the victims.

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With assistance from Alessandra Migliaccio and Dayana Mustak.

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