A devastating New Year's Eve fire at a popular bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana has resulted in 40 fatalities and 115 serious injuries, with local media reporting the blaze was ignited by sparklers stuffed into champagne bottles.
Chaos in the Constellation Bar
The fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 1, 2026, as revelers celebrated the arrival of the new year. Swiss officials have stated the incident was an accident. Photographic evidence and eyewitness accounts suggest sparklers placed in champagne bottles set the bar's ceiling alight, with flames and dense black smoke spreading rapidly through the venue.
International Response to a Widespread Tragedy
The scale of the disaster is underscored by the international medical response. Critically injured victims are being treated in specialized burns units not only in Switzerland but as far away as Stuttgart, Milan, and Paris. Among the injured is a football player from French club FC Metz, who is reported to be in critical condition.
Authorities in the canton of Valais are working to identify victims, a complex task given the resort's popularity with foreign visitors. Italy's Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, confirmed that 12 to 15 Italian citizens are hospitalized with a further 16 missing. French broadcaster BFMTV reported nine French citizens are injured and eight are missing.
Families Await News as Investigation Continues
The human toll of the tragedy is heartbreaking. In an interview with BFMTV, the mother of a missing 16-year-old said that 30 hours after the fire, she still did not know if her "son was in a hospital or in a morgue."
Emergency services responded swiftly to the alarm. Cantonal police chief Frederic Gisler said the first officers arrived at the bar within two minutes. The Valais authorities deployed a massive response, including 13 helicopters and 42 ambulances, to transport victims to local hospitals and specialist burn centers in Lausanne and Zurich. The investigation into the precise cause and circumstances of the fire is ongoing.
