Swiss authorities on Tuesday acknowledged that fire safety inspections had not been conducted for five years at a bar where 40 people died in a devastating New Year’s Day blaze.
The fire at Le Constellation, a basement bar in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, also left 116 people injured, 83 of whom remain hospitalised. Most of the victims were teenagers.
Prosecutors believe the blaze broke out when revellers celebrating the New Year raised champagne bottles fitted with sparklers, igniting soundproofing foam on the ceiling.
Although inspections — including fire safety checks — were carried out in 2016, 2018 and 2019, no periodic inspections took place between 2020 and 2025, Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud admitted at a press conference, five days after the tragedy.
“Periodic inspections were not conducted between 2020 and 2025. We bitterly regret this,” Feraud said, adding that the law requires the municipal fire service to inspect public venues annually. He said he did not know why the inspections were not carried out.
In a statement, the municipality said the lapse was discovered during a review of documents submitted to the Wallis canton prosecutor’s office.
“The courts will determine the influence that such a failure had in the chain of events leading to the tragedy,” the statement said. “The municipality will assume full responsibility as determined by the courts.”
The local council said it would commission an independent specialist agency to inspect all public establishments and would impose a ban on indoor pyrotechnic devices.
“The municipality of Crans-Montana remains fully committed to supporting the victims, their families and loved ones,” it added. “It will continue to do everything in its power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.”
Foam in place since 2015
Le Constellation, founded in 1967, was owned and operated by French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti. The bar was packed with young partygoers when the fire erupted around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday.
A criminal investigation has been opened against the couple, who face charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
Municipal records indicate a capacity limit of 100 people on the ground floor and 100 in the basement. According to photos taken by the owners during renovations in 2015 — works that authorities say did not require a permit — the sound-insulating foam had been fixed to the ceiling since then.
A video filmed by a member of the public and broadcast Monday by Swiss broadcaster RTS suggests the danger was known years earlier. During New Year’s Eve celebrations in 2019, a bar employee can be heard warning, “Watch out for the foam!” as champagne bottles with sparklers were brought out.
“The security officials who inspected this bar between 2015 and 2020 should probably have been more vigilant,” Feraud admitted, while ruling out resignation for now.
“I will carry this burden and the sorrow of all these families for the rest of my life,” he said, visibly shaken.
The most seriously injured survivors have been airlifted to specialist burn centres in Switzerland and abroad.
Memorials and mourning
The average age of those killed was 19, with eight victims under the age of 16. While most were Swiss nationals, the dead also included nine French and six Italians.
“This tragedy could have been avoided and should have been prevented through common sense and prevention,” Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, said on Monday.
Switzerland has declared Friday a national day of mourning. A memorial ceremony is planned in Martigny, in the Rhone valley, with French President Emmanuel Macron expected to attend.
Church bells across Switzerland will toll at 2:00 p.m. (1300 GMT), followed by a national moment of silence. The United Nations offices in Geneva will also lower their flags to half-mast.
