The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina has expressed its condolences to Switzerland, its citizens and the relevant institutions on the occasion of the tragedy in a bar during a New Year’s celebration in the elite Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, in which, according to the latest information, 40 people died and 115 were injured.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina extended its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to all those affected by this tragedy.
As stated, according to currently available information, there are no citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina among the victims.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina emphasizes that it is in constant contact with the relevant Swiss institutions and that it will continue to monitor the development of the situation.
The cause of the fire, which was initially reported as an explosion, has not yet been clarified, but the authorities have announced that, according to the information available so far, it was an accident.
Authorities have stressed that it is too early to talk about the identities of the dead and injured, but Italian authorities have said that 16 Italian citizens are missing, while about a dozen are hospitalized.
The devastating fire in the Swiss Crans-Montana has, according to the witness who followed the beginning of the tragic moments, a rather bizarre reason. The fire reportedly started after one of the waiters danced on his colleague’s shoulders while holding a sprinkler too close to the ceiling. Other guests cited careless handling of champagne bottles with lit Roman candles as the reason.
Approximately 40 dead and 100 injured, most seriously. According to the authorities, tourists are among the victims. That’s the result of a fire that broke out around 2:30 a.m. Thursday in the Le Constellation bar in the popular mountain resort of Crans-Montana, which regularly ranks among the top ten European ski resorts.
In the resort, which is located about 40 kilometers northwest of Zermatt, there was shock and sadness after dawn on Thursday. The Swiss daily Blick quoted a doctor who intervened on the spot. He allegedly stated that there would be dozens of victims. One of the reasons is allegedly that the only way out of the basement part of the bar was a narrow and rather steep staircase, which turned into a trap the moment panic set in.
“During the party, the waiter climbed onto his colleague’s shoulders. He was holding a birthday candle or a sprinkler in his hand and his hand was very close to the ceiling. The ceiling was on fire within minutes,” the survivor told French news channel BFM.
The director of the police of the canton of Valais, Frédéric Gisler, confirmed that the fire started in the basement of the bar and that there was a large stampede on the stairs.
Another witness, Emma, believes the fire started to spread after people celebrated with champagne bottles containing Roman candles. “Some of the bottles were too close to the ceiling, which quickly caught fire. The flames spread really quickly, it didn’t take long and everything was on fire. It only lasted a few seconds. We ran outside, screaming and crying,” she told BFM.
Victoria gave a similar account, according to which the champagne bottles with candles were indeed to blame for the fire and subsequent explosion – the cause of which is still being determined by the police: “The whole ceiling started to burn. All the windows were sooty and black. Some people were breaking the windows to let air into the club. It was a huge panic,” the woman said, adding that she thought many of the victims suffocated.
According to investigators, there is no indication that terrorism or arson was behind the tragedy. According to authorities, the identification of the victims will take longer, given the severity of the burns.
“We have already started identifying the victims and notifying their families, but it will take time and at this point it is premature to give exact figures. We are devastated,” added Frédéric Gisler.
