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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Chris Michael in Crans-Montana, Luke Harding and Angela Giuffrida

Switzerland to hold five days of mourning after 40 killed in resort fire, as investigators rush to identify victims

Mourners near the Le Constellation bar alongside bouquets of flowers
Mourners near the Le Constellation bar where about 40 people died in a fire early on 1 January. Photograph: Maxime Schmid/AFP/Getty Images

Swiss investigators are racing to identify the victims of a fire that tore through a crowded bar, killing about 40 people and injuring 115 who were celebrating at a New Year’s Eve party in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana.

President Guy Parmelin has said the country will hold five days of mourning, describing the blaze as one of the most traumatic events in Switzerland’s history. “It was a drama of an unknown scale,” he said, paying tribute to the many “young lives that were lost and interrupted”.

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