Swiss authorities say they have launched a criminal investigation into the managers of a bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana where a fire killed at least 40 people on New Year's Eve. Police have identified four young Swiss nationals who died in the blaze.
French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti owned and managed the Le Constellation Bar in Crans-Montana, which was crammed with young New Year's revellers when a blaze began at around 1:30 am on Thursday.
Forty people were killed and 119 injured, most of them seriously, according to the latest toll.
"A criminal investigation was opened last night against the two managers of the bar," police and the public prosecutor's office in the southwestern Swiss canton of Wallis said in a statement.
"They are charged with manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence."
The authorities recalled that "the presumption of innocence applies until a final conviction is handed down".
Tears and stunned silence at vigil for Swiss fire victims
Safety standards questioned
The question of whether safety standards at Le Constellation bar were respected has been debated ever since the devastating blaze.
Jacques Moretti insisted to the Swiss press on Friday that all safety norms were followed at the bar, which according to the Crans-Montana website had a capacity of 300 people plus 40 on its terrace.
But the chief prosecutor of the Wallis region, Beatrice Pilloud, said that the standards were among the focuses of the investigation.
She told reporters Friday that the leading hypothesis was that "sparklers or Bengal candles attached to champagne bottles and lifted too close to the ceiling" had ignited the deadly fire.
Videos shared on social media showed the low wooden ceiling – covered with soundproofing foam – catching alight and the flames spreading quickly, as revellers continued to dance, unaware of the death trap they were in.
Several witnesses said the event space in the basement of the establishment, where the fire began, was connected with the ground floor by only a staircase, which some described as "narrow".
Swiss bar blaze suspicions fall on sparklers waved by staff
Identifying victims
Police said Saturday that investigators had identified the remains of four young Swiss nationals who perished in the fire, including a girl and a boy both aged 16.
Their bodies had been returned to their families, police said, as efforts continue to identify the other victims.
On Friday, the authorities said that 113 of the 119 people who were injured in the blaze had been identified, with most of those hurt remaining in serious condition.
Frédéric Gisler, the head of the cantonal police, told reporters those identified include 71 Swiss, 14 French, 11 Italians, four Serbs, one from each of Bosnia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal. The nationalities of the other 14 injured has not yet been established.
Dozens of people badly burnt in the fire were taken to nearby countries for urgent treatment, including France.
Specialist care in France
The French Foreign Ministry had reported eight French citizens as unaccounted for.
Additionally, “ten patients” have so far been transferred and are receiving care in French hospitals, the Quai d’Orsay said in a statement Saturday.
Two patients were transferred on Thursday and eight on Friday, the ministry said, noting that “further transfers” were “being implemented” on Saturday.
France is also working to “increase” the number of beds available to accommodate victims. There are currently 15 adult beds and four pediatric beds, the Quai d’Orsay added.
As well as civilian hospitals in Lyon, Metz, Nantes, and Paris, the military’s burn units of the Armed Forces Health Service have been put on alert, notably at the military hospitals of Percy in Clamart, near Paris, and Sainte-Anne in Toulon, the Ministry of the Armed Forces said on Friday.
People continued to bring flowers, candles and messages on Saturday to a makeshift memorial near the scene of the tragedy at Le Constellation bar.
A white sheet, emblazoned with a drawing of a large heart and the words "Courage" and Thank You", had been hung outside the Crans-Montana fire station.
(With newswires)
