New Year’s festivities in Switzerland ended in disaster on Thursday after a fire at an Alpine ski resort on the Swiss Alps killed around 40 people and injured more than 100, with officials calling it among the deadliest incidents in the nation’s history.
The fire erupted in the early hours of New Year’s Day at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, one of the country’s most upscale destinations.
Valais Cantonal Police Commander Frédéric Gisler said on Thursday evening that smoke was first noticed at about 1.30am local time (11.30am AEDT), prompting a call to emergency services.
Police arrived within two minutes of the alert and were swiftly joined by firefighters and additional emergency crews from across the region.
Now, haunting footage has shown the moment the fire started, which authorities and witnesses say was caused by sparklers in champagne bottles.
Here’s everything we know.
What caused the deadly New Year’s blaze on the Swiss Alps?
“Some hypotheses can be confirmed,” chief prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud told reporters on Friday. “As things stand, everything points to the fire starting from sparklers or flares placed in champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling, which very rapidly led to a flashover fire.”
Two witnesses told CNN affiliate BFMTV they also believed the incident was caused by sparklers placed in champagne bottles.
“There were waitresses carrying champagne bottles with sparklers on them, and they carried them close to the ceiling, which caused it to catch fire,” one eyewitness said.
“One waitress was standing on another waiter’s shoulders, and the bottle and the flames were just a few centimetres away from the ceiling,” the other reveller added.
“Once the ceiling was on fire, within about 10 seconds the entire nightclub was on fire,” the first eyewitness said.
“We all ran out screaming and when we turned back, there were flames.”
Haunting footage shows the moment champagne sparklers caused the blaze
The harrowing footage, confirmed as authentic by the BBC, captures the moment flames start to creep across the low ceiling while unaware partygoers raise sparklers and bottles inside the nightclub.
The venue, later devastated by the blaze, was located at the Crans-Montana ski resort in the Swiss Alps.
The first victim has been identified
Authorities said an exact death toll was not immediately available, but about 40 people have been killed while 115 others have been injured.
A 17-year-old rising golf talent has been named as the first confirmed victim, as authorities continue the process of identifying the many others who lost their lives.
Emanuele Galeppini, a 17-year-old golfer from Italy, was among those who lost their lives, according to officials from the Italian foreign ministry and the Italian Golf Federation.
The golf federation honoured the teenage golf star, describing him as “a young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values”.
“In this moment of great sorrow, our thoughts go out to his family and all those who loved him. Emanuele, you will remain in our hearts forever,” the federation said in a statement.
Galeppini was based in Dubai and had taken part in around 50 international tournaments, according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking, including the Italian National Under-18 Team Championship.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed one Australian person is among those injured in the inferno.
“We extend our deepest condolences to those affected by the devastating fire at the ‘Le Constellation’ bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort in the Swiss Alps,” a DFAT spokesperson said in a statement.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian that has been injured and is receiving medical care following the fire.”
Eyewitnesses reveal what they saw
19-year-old Nathan Huguenin, who narrowly escaped the blaze, said he has been unable to sleep since the fire.
“I feel like it’s actually a nightmare, that I’m going to wake up,” Huguenin told Sky News on Thursday. “I closed my eyes, and everything kept coming back to me, because I saw people being resuscitated. I saw people completely burned. I saw people dying. Honestly, it was quite complicated and quite difficult to stomach.”
He said he and his friends attempted to enter the bar on New Year’s Eve but were turned away because it had reached capacity.
“But we knew, like, other ways in,” Oscar said.
“Like three minutes later, we’re just in front, like three meters away — it exploded. It’s crazy,” said Oscar. “Many people tried running out and people were banging on the windows, because it’s like a winter garden … It’s like a semi-outside spot but still with windows. And everyone was banging on the windows and stuff. Screaming. It was like a horror movie. But they couldn’t get out. I think the windows were too thick. Then people, like, fell on each other coming out, fully burned.”
“Even people ask me: Am I burned in my face, am I burned?” Oscar recalled. “Because I think the adrenaline made them not feel anything. Because they were completely, I don’t know, fully burned and they didn’t feel anything.”
Meanwhile, Valais security director Stéphane Ganzer has talked of scenes of “chaos” and “war” at the ski resort bar while speaking to French radio network RTL.
Ganzer recounted how the partygoers became “improvised first responders, having to perform CPR or help people who are completely burned”.
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