Swiss fire survivors fight for life; sparklers seen as cause

Hugo Miller and Fergal O'Brien, Bloomberg News on Jan 2, 2026

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Many of those injured in the deadly fire that engulfed a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana during New Year celebrations are fighting for their lives, as officials started investigating the tragedy.

The official death toll remains at 40, but 119 others were injured in the blaze, which Swiss President Guy Parmelin has described as “one of the worst tragedies that our country has ever known.”

There were about 160 people in the bar, Le Constellation, when the fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday.

No details were given about the dead, but 71 of the injured were Swiss, with 14 French citizens and 11 Italians, officials in the canton of Valais said during a press conference on Friday afternoon. Six of the injured, many of whom were teenagers, have yet to be identified, Valais police chief Frederic Gisler said.

While many remain in critical condition in specialist burn units both in Switzerland and as far afield as Stuttgart, Milan and Paris, focus has shifted to the investigation into what caused the fire.

The fire was likely ignited by sparklers held aloft in bottles, which came into contact with foam soundproofing insulation on the ceiling in the bar during the New Year celebrations, the officials said. That hypothesis was supported by footage captured on mobile phones showing lit sparklers in champagne bottles.

Beatrice Pilloud, chief prosecutor for Valais, where Crans-Montana is located, said her office will examine all aspects of the incident including renovation works done on the bar and materials used. She said her team will also examine if there were sufficient emergency exits and whether the number of people in the bar exceeded its permitted maximum.

The investigation will also look at potential criminal liability and whether charges for crimes including homicide by negligence could be laid, according to Pilloud. Two of the bar’s managers have already been questioned, she said.

The bar is owned by a French couple, according to multiple media reports. One of the pair, a woman, was in the bar and suffered burns to her arm but survived, while the man was elsewhere, French broadcaster BFMTV reported.

Eyewitnesses say the flames, along with dense black smoke, spread rapidly and that a stairway from the basement of the bar quickly became blocked by those rushing to escape the fire. Swiss officials said the bar did have an emergency exit, but added that fleeing customers may have been unable to find it as the blaze took hold.

Crans-Montana is a well-known ski and hiking area and hosts World Cup ski races. Vail Resorts Inc., the world’s largest ski-resort operator, recently acquired the ski station as part of a European expansion, but doesn’t own the bar.

Our “thoughts are with the victims and their families,” Vail Resorts said in a statement, adding that it stands “ready to support their efforts in any appropriate way.”