Prosecutors say the managers of the Swiss bar where a fire left 40 people dead and 119 injured are now under criminal investigation.
The bar owners and managers, a French couple identified by media as Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are suspected of having committed homicide by negligence, causing bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, according to the Valais prosecutor’s office.
Investigators believe the fire at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana was likely caused by sparklers attached to bottles being held too close to the ceiling, based on initial findings.
In a statement, Beatrice Pilloud, the chief prosecutor in the canton of Valais, said investigators were examining whether the venue’s acoustic foam may have caused the fire and whether it met safety regulations.
“A criminal investigation was opened last night against the two managers of the bar,” police and the public prosecutor’s office in the south-western Swiss canton of Valais said. “They are charged with manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.”
The authorities said that “the presumption of innocence applies until a final conviction is handed down”.
A further 16 people have now been formally identified among those killed in last week’s fire at a New Year’s party in Switzerland, including four Swiss girls aged between 14 and 18. Fewer than half of the victims remain unidentified.
Police in the canton of Valais are continuing efforts to identify all 40 people who died in the blaze. Officers are working alongside the Institute of Forensic Medicine and using Switzerland’s disaster victim identification procedures to help return victims to their families.
Among those newly identified are six Swiss males aged between 16 and 31, police said.
The confirmed victims also include two Italian 16-year-olds, a 16-year-old with Italian-Emirati nationality, an 18-year-old from Romania and an 18-year-old Turkish national. Police said the oldest of the newly identified victims was a 39-year-old French citizen.
“This means that 24 victims have now been identified,” police said Sunday.
Mehari, who has lived in the area for 15 years, described the scene as “hell.”
“Somebody was dying in front of me and I couldn’t do anything,” he said. “Her face was so burned it was red.”
Swiss President Guy Parmelin shared his “deepest condolences” to the victims and their families.
“Behind these numbers are faces, names, families, destinies brutally interrupted,” Parmelin said at a press conference Thursday.
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