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Tag: Valais canton

  • Teens as young as 14 and 15 among victims of Swiss bar fire, raising questions about ID checks

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    Teenagers as young as 14 and 15 were among the victims of the deadly fire at a ski resort bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, police said Sunday, raising questions about whether sufficient age checks were in place.Police in Valais canton, where the fatal blaze occurred at a bar packed with young people ringing in the New Year, said 16 more victims had been identified and their bodies returned to their families.All 40 people killed in a New Year’s blaze at the bar, that injured more than 100 others, have been identified, including 20 minors, Wallis canton police said Sunday.France’s foreign ministry said Swiss authorities confirmed eight French nationals were among the dead. One person is still missing, and 23 are receiving, or have received, medical treatment. An additional transfer of one injured person to France is underway.The latest victims include a Swiss teenager aged 14, two aged 15, two aged 16 and one aged 17, as well as two Italians aged 16 and a 16-year-old teenager with dual nationality, according to police.Nine of the newly identified victims were under the age of 18, police said.As authorities continue their investigation into the blaze, Sunday’s fresh victim details will add to the growing realization and concern in Crans-Montana that many of the dead are some of the youngest in the community.On Saturday, police announced they had opened an investigation into the managers of the bar for negligent manslaughter, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson. One of the bar’s co-owners has previously said “everything was done according to the rules.”Under Swiss federal law, beer and wine can be sold to people from the age of 16, while spirits can only be sold to people aged 18 or over, according to the country’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).Specific law in Valais canton states that from 10 p.m. onwards those under 16 can access premises serving alcohol if accompanied by their legal guardian or another adult authorized by their legal guardian. The fire broke out at the resort bar around 1:30 a.m. local time, police said.Local authorities have commented on the youth of the victims, with the president of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, saying many of those killed were “full of plans, hope and dreams.”On Sunday, mourners attended a church service at Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana to pay their respects to the victims of the tragedy.“Countless people join us – people whose hearts are broken,” Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey said during the service, according to Reuters news agency. “Many expressions of sympathy and solidarity reach us.”The service was followed by a silent march toward the center of Crans-Montana, where people were invited to lay flowers and sign a book of condolences, the church said on its website.Italy to pursue legal actionSix Italian victims of the blaze have now been identified and their bodies are due to be flown back to Italy on Monday, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said via his spokesperson Sunday.The Italian victims include one 15-year-old teenager, four 16-year-olds and another 17-year-old, Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Coronado said.Coronado said Italy would pursue legal recourse against the bar owners on behalf of the families.“Accidents happen, but this was not an accident but an avoidable tragedy: all it would have taken was a little prevention and a modicum of common sense,” he said, according to Italian media video of his comments.For their part, the French co-owner of the bar told Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève Friday that the establishment had been inspected “three times in 10 years.”“Everything was done according to the rules,” Jacques Moretti said.CNN has contacted Le Constellation bar to ask whether the victims under the age of 16 were accompanied by a legal guardian or another authorized adult.CNN has previously reached out to both Moretti and co-owner Jessica Anne Jeanne Moretti through their businesses for comment.CNN’s Niamh Kennedy, Joseph Ataman, Martin Goillandeau, Caitlin Danaher and Barbie Latza Nadeau contributed reporting.

    CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland —

    Teenagers as young as 14 and 15 were among the victims of the deadly fire at a ski resort bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, police said Sunday, raising questions about whether sufficient age checks were in place.

    Police in Valais canton, where the fatal blaze occurred at a bar packed with young people ringing in the New Year, said 16 more victims had been identified and their bodies returned to their families.

    All 40 people killed in a New Year’s blaze at the bar, that injured more than 100 others, have been identified, including 20 minors, Wallis canton police said Sunday.

    France’s foreign ministry said Swiss authorities confirmed eight French nationals were among the dead. One person is still missing, and 23 are receiving, or have received, medical treatment. An additional transfer of one injured person to France is underway.

    The latest victims include a Swiss teenager aged 14, two aged 15, two aged 16 and one aged 17, as well as two Italians aged 16 and a 16-year-old teenager with dual nationality, according to police.

    Nine of the newly identified victims were under the age of 18, police said.

    As authorities continue their investigation into the blaze, Sunday’s fresh victim details will add to the growing realization and concern in Crans-Montana that many of the dead are some of the youngest in the community.

    On Saturday, police announced they had opened an investigation into the managers of the bar for negligent manslaughter, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson. One of the bar’s co-owners has previously said “everything was done according to the rules.”

    Under Swiss federal law, beer and wine can be sold to people from the age of 16, while spirits can only be sold to people aged 18 or over, according to the country’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

    Specific law in Valais canton states that from 10 p.m. onwards those under 16 can access premises serving alcohol if accompanied by their legal guardian or another adult authorized by their legal guardian. The fire broke out at the resort bar around 1:30 a.m. local time, police said.

    Local authorities have commented on the youth of the victims, with the president of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, saying many of those killed were “full of plans, hope and dreams.”

    On Sunday, mourners attended a church service at Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana to pay their respects to the victims of the tragedy.

    “Countless people join us – people whose hearts are broken,” Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey said during the service, according to Reuters news agency. “Many expressions of sympathy and solidarity reach us.”

    The service was followed by a silent march toward the center of Crans-Montana, where people were invited to lay flowers and sign a book of condolences, the church said on its website.

    Italy to pursue legal action

    Six Italian victims of the blaze have now been identified and their bodies are due to be flown back to Italy on Monday, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said via his spokesperson Sunday.

    The Italian victims include one 15-year-old teenager, four 16-year-olds and another 17-year-old, Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Coronado said.

    Coronado said Italy would pursue legal recourse against the bar owners on behalf of the families.

    “Accidents happen, but this was not an accident but an avoidable tragedy: all it would have taken was a little prevention and a modicum of common sense,” he said, according to Italian media video of his comments.

    For their part, the French co-owner of the bar told Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève Friday that the establishment had been inspected “three times in 10 years.”

    “Everything was done according to the rules,” Jacques Moretti said.

    CNN has contacted Le Constellation bar to ask whether the victims under the age of 16 were accompanied by a legal guardian or another authorized adult.

    CNN has previously reached out to both Moretti and co-owner Jessica Anne Jeanne Moretti through their businesses for comment.

    CNN’s Niamh Kennedy, Joseph Ataman, Martin Goillandeau, Caitlin Danaher and Barbie Latza Nadeau contributed reporting.

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  • About 40 people dead and 115 injured in fire at Swiss Alpine bar during New Year’s celebration

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    Axel Clavier felt like he was suffocating inside the Swiss Alpine bar where moments before he’d been ringing in the new year with friends and dozens of other revelers.The 16-year-old from Paris escaped the inferno, which broke out after midnight Thursday, by forcing a window open with a table. But about 40 other partygoers died, including one of Clavier’s friends, falling victim to one of the worst tragedies in Switzerland’s history.The blaze also injured about 115 people, most of them seriously, as it ripped through the crowded Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, police said.Clavier told The Associated Press that “two or three” of his friends remained missing hours after the disaster.Fire’s cause remains under investigationValais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said during a news conference that work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families, adding that the community is “devastated.”Authorities did not immediately have an exact count of the deceased.Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire.“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.She later said the number of people who were in the bar is “unknown,” and its maximum capacity will be part of the investigation.“For the time being, we don’t have any suspects,” she added, when asked if anyone had been arrested over the fire. “An investigation has been opened, not against anyone, but to better understand the circumstances of this dramatic fire.”An evening of celebration turns tragicClavier, the Parisian teenager, said he didn’t see the fire start, but did see waitresses arrive with Champagne bottles with burning sparklers. He lost his jacket, shoes, phone and bank card while fleeing, but “I am still alive and it’s just stuff.”“I’m still in shock,” he added.Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they were inside when they saw a male bartender lifting a female bartender on his shoulders as she held a lit candle in a bottle. The flames spread, collapsing the wooden ceiling, they told the broadcaster.One of the women described a crowd surge as people frantically tried to escape from a basement nightclub up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government of the Valais Canton.Crans-Montana is less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Sierre, where 28 people, including many children, were killed when a bus from Belgium crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.Resort town sits in the heart of the AlpsIn a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid accidents that could further strain athe area’s lready overwhelmed medical resources.With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region’s snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit. The resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February. The town’s Crans-sur-Sierre golf club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course.Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in office, said many emergency staff had been “confronted by scenes of indescribable violence and distress.”“This Thursday must be the time of prayer, unity and dignity,” he said. “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help.”___Dazio reported from Berlin and Leicester reported from Paris. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

    CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland —

    Axel Clavier felt like he was suffocating inside the Swiss Alpine bar where moments before he’d been ringing in the new year with friends and dozens of other revelers.

    The 16-year-old from Paris escaped the inferno, which broke out after midnight Thursday, by forcing a window open with a table. But about 40 other partygoers died, including one of Clavier’s friends, falling victim to one of the worst tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

    The blaze also injured about 115 people, most of them seriously, as it ripped through the crowded Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, police said.

    Clavier told The Associated Press that “two or three” of his friends remained missing hours after the disaster.

    Fire’s cause remains under investigation

    Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said during a news conference that work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families, adding that the community is “devastated.”

    Authorities did not immediately have an exact count of the deceased.

    Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire.

    “At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

    She later said the number of people who were in the bar is “unknown,” and its maximum capacity will be part of the investigation.

    “For the time being, we don’t have any suspects,” she added, when asked if anyone had been arrested over the fire. “An investigation has been opened, not against anyone, but to better understand the circumstances of this dramatic fire.”

    An evening of celebration turns tragic

    Clavier, the Parisian teenager, said he didn’t see the fire start, but did see waitresses arrive with Champagne bottles with burning sparklers. He lost his jacket, shoes, phone and bank card while fleeing, but “I am still alive and it’s just stuff.”

    “I’m still in shock,” he added.

    Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they were inside when they saw a male bartender lifting a female bartender on his shoulders as she held a lit candle in a bottle. The flames spread, collapsing the wooden ceiling, they told the broadcaster.

    One of the women described a crowd surge as people frantically tried to escape from a basement nightclub up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.

    Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.

    “This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government of the Valais Canton.

    Crans-Montana is less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Sierre, where 28 people, including many children, were killed when a bus from Belgium crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.

    Resort town sits in the heart of the Alps

    In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid accidents that could further strain athe area’s lready overwhelmed medical resources.

    With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region’s snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit. The resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February. The town’s Crans-sur-Sierre golf club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course.

    Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in office, said many emergency staff had been “confronted by scenes of indescribable violence and distress.”

    “This Thursday must be the time of prayer, unity and dignity,” he said. “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help.”

    ___

    Dazio reported from Berlin and Leicester reported from Paris. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

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  • Dozens presumed dead, about 100 injured in fire at Swiss Alps bar during New Year’s celebration

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    Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a bar in a Swiss Alps resort town during a New Year’s celebration, police said Thursday.“Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said during a news conference.Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure,” Gisler said, adding that the community is “devastated.”Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.An evening of celebration turns tragicOfficials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.Swiss President Guy Parmelin said in a social media post that the government’s “thoughts go to the victims, to the injured and their relatives, to whom it addresses its sincere condolences.”Thursday was Parmelin’s first day in office as president as the seven members of Switzerland’s government take turns holding the presidency for one year. Out of respect for the families of the victims, he delayed a traditional New Year address to the nation meant to be broadcast Thursday afternoon, Swiss broadcasters SRF and RTS reported.A witness who spoke to French broadcaster BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.Resort town sits in the heart of the AlpsIn a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.With high-altitude ski runs at around 1.86 miles in the heart of the Swiss Alps, Crans-Montana is one of the winter sports centers of Switzerland’s ski-crazy Valais region, also home to Zermatt, Verbier and other resorts nestled in the snowy peaks and pine forests drawing winter sports enthusiasts from across the planet. The resort is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open Feb. 6.Crans-Montana also is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountains views. Le Constellation bar is about 273 yards down the street from the golf club.Crans-Montana is less than 3 miles from Sierre, Switzerland, where 28 people including many children were killed when a bus from Belgium crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.The Swiss blaze on Thursday came 25 years after an inferno in the Dutch fishing town of Volendam on New Year’s Eve, which killed 14 people and injured more than 200 as they celebrated in a cafe.

    CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland —

    Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a bar in a Swiss Alps resort town during a New Year’s celebration, police said Thursday.

    “Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said during a news conference.

    Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure,” Gisler said, adding that the community is “devastated.”

    Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

    “At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

    An evening of celebration turns tragic

    Officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.

    “This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.

    The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.

    Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

    Swiss President Guy Parmelin said in a social media post that the government’s “thoughts go to the victims, to the injured and their relatives, to whom it addresses its sincere condolences.”

    Thursday was Parmelin’s first day in office as president as the seven members of Switzerland’s government take turns holding the presidency for one year. Out of respect for the families of the victims, he delayed a traditional New Year address to the nation meant to be broadcast Thursday afternoon, Swiss broadcasters SRF and RTS reported.

    A witness who spoke to French broadcaster BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.

    Resort town sits in the heart of the Alps

    In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.

    With high-altitude ski runs at around 1.86 miles in the heart of the Swiss Alps, Crans-Montana is one of the winter sports centers of Switzerland’s ski-crazy Valais region, also home to Zermatt, Verbier and other resorts nestled in the snowy peaks and pine forests drawing winter sports enthusiasts from across the planet. The resort is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.

    In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open Feb. 6.

    Crans-Montana also is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountains views. Le Constellation bar is about 273 yards down the street from the golf club.

    Crans-Montana is less than 3 miles from Sierre, Switzerland, where 28 people including many children were killed when a bus from Belgium crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.

    The Swiss blaze on Thursday came 25 years after an inferno in the Dutch fishing town of Volendam on New Year’s Eve, which killed 14 people and injured more than 200 as they celebrated in a cafe.

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