The first victim of the fire has been identified as 17-year-old Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini.
His name was released by the Italian Golf Federation. In a post on its website, the Italian Golf Federation paid tribute to “a young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values.” Although the news was shared by numerous news outlets, officials have not yet confirmed the names of the victims.
Investigators began the process of identifying victims on Friday after a fire tore through a bar in the Swiss Alpine town of Crans-Montana, turning a New Year’s Eve party into one of the country’s worst tragedies.
It is not yet clear what caused the fire at Le Constellation, which killed about 40 people and injured about 115 others, many seriously — but bystanders described scenes of panic and chaos as people tried to break windows to escape and others, covered in burns, ran out into the street.
Swiss police have warned that it could take days or even weeks to identify all those killed, leaving families and friends in agonizing pain.
Authorities have declined to speculate on the cause of the tragedy, saying only that it was not an attack.
A Swiss official has warned that the death toll in the fire could rise.
The owners of the Le Constellation bar in the famous Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, where the tragedy occurred on New Year’s Eve, are alive, French media reported. They are Jessica and Jacques Moretti, originally from Corsica.
According to several French internet portals, the couple took over the popular ski resort bar in 2015. In addition to Le Constellation, they also manage another restaurant, Le Vieux Chalet restaurant in Lens.
