Victims from nine countries in the bar fire
Authorities hold press conference in Crans-Montana following deadly New Year’s Eve fire. There announced the nationalities of the injured victims.
In total, 71 Swiss, 14 French, 11 Italian and four Serbian victims have been identified. In addition, there are also injured from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal.
– As for the dead, up to 40 people have lost their lives. The formal identification is ongoing and is our top priority, says Frédéric Gisler, chief of police at the Valais cantonal police, at a press conference.
The fire was probably caused by the ice torches that were sitting on several champagne bottles. They got too close to the insulated roof, as seen in several pictures.
The two French owners of the bar have been questioned by police.
– We will be able to investigate whether anyone can be held criminally responsible for the incident. And if that is the case, and if these people are alive, preliminary investigations will be initiated into causing a fire, causing the death of another and causing bodily harm, he says.
