Swiss authorities have placed two managers of Le Constellation bar under criminal investigation as the first victims of the New Year’s Eve fire that killed 40 people were formally identified and returned to their families.
Regional police said on Saturday that four victims — two aged 16, an 18-year-old and a 21-year-old, all Swiss nationals — had been identified and their bodies handed over to relatives. By Sunday, authorities confirmed 16 new bodies had been identified and returned to their families, including nine people aged under 18 and a 39-year-old French national.
The two bar operators, identified in French and Swiss media as Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are suspected of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and arson by negligence, prosecutors in Valais canton said in a statement on Saturday. The French couple bought the bar in 2015, according to the Valais company registry.
Officials said on Friday that sparklers on champagne bottles carried too close to the ceiling likely ignited the blaze, which also injured 119 people.
“Everyone knew this would go wrong”
Criticism of the bar’s safety measures has intensified as survivors described a chaotic evacuation hampered by blocked exits and narrow staircases.
A 31-year-old bartender from Crans-Montana told German newspaper Bild there was only one combined entrance and exit, plus one emergency exit which “was always blocked during my visits”. The emergency exit was located in a separate room used for smoking.
“Everyone in the town knew that this would go wrong at some point,” he said.
Eyewitnesses described a massive crush on a narrow staircase leading from the basement to the ground floor as people tried to escape the rapidly spreading fire.
Fire safety experts Peter Wilkinson and Edwin Galea told the BBC that sound-absorbing polyurethane foam on the ceiling had probably ignited during the fire. This highly flammable material can emit dense, toxic smoke, significantly reducing escape time.
Chief prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said indications were that sparklers got too near the ceiling. “From there, a rapid, very rapid and widespread blaze ensued,” she said on Friday.
Investigation scope
Investigators are examining the bar’s renovations, fire extinguishing systems, escape routes and the number of people inside when the blaze began. Prosecutors are also looking into whether the acoustic foam was “the cause of the problem” and the bar’s compliance with regulations.
Owner Jacques Moretti told Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève on Friday that all renovations had been carried out “in accordance with regulations” and the establishment had been inspected three times over the past decade.
Attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said the couple had not been interviewed under caution but added: “If there is a flight risk, it is possible for us to take the measures needed.”
Swiss justice minister Beat Jans, standing in front of the cordoned-off bar, said: “It was an enormous tragedy. We’re all so sorry that this had to happen.”
Agonising wait for families
The families of the 40 killed have faced an agonising wait for information, with several saying they have received no details in the days since the fire.
“I’m living a nightmare, a nightmare. Either I find my son in the morgue, or I find him in critical condition. It’s terrible,” Laetitia Brodard-Sitre told Le Temps after searching hospitals for her 16-year-old son Arthur.
According to two people familiar with the investigation, some victims may be under 16. Local residents said the bar was popular with young people. Beer and wine can be drunk from age 16 in Switzerland.
Residents have welcomed the criminal investigation. Patricia Mazzoni, 55, said: “We need a moment to reflect. But afterwards, I’d like an independent investigation. An independent investigation to find out who failed here.”
The area around Le Constellation remains cordoned off with a no-fly zone imposed over Crans-Montana as the investigation continues.
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Photo taken from video taken at the scene of the blaze