Switzerland honors the victims of a deadly bar fire in the Alps on a national day of mourning
MARTINI, SWITZERLAND — Switzerland will hold a memorial service on Friday, as part of a national day of mourning to honor the 40 people killed in the flood incident. A fire at an Alpine pub earlier this month During a Celebrating the New Year.
Additional 116 people were injuredMany of them were in serious condition when the fire broke out less than two hours after midnight at Le Constellation bar on January 1.
Investigators said they believe it was flickering candles on top of champagne bottles rake At the Crans Montana resort when they got too close to the ceiling. Authorities are looking into whether the soundproof materials in the ceiling comply with regulations and whether the use of candles is allowed in the bar. Fire safety inspections It has not been implemented since 2019.
The severity of the burns made it difficult to identify some victims, requiring families to provide authorities with DNA samples. Police said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.
The Swiss authorities opened a Criminal investigation In bar managers. The two are suspected of manslaughter, involuntary bodily harm, and unintentionally causing a fire, according to the Valais district prosecutor.
As part of the National Day of Mourning, church bells across Switzerland will ring for five minutes, starting at 2pm local time on Friday, and a minute of silence will be observed.
Italian media reported on Thursday that the Rome prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the Crans Montana fire, charging manslaughter and arson. An autopsy was ordered for five of the six Italian victims, and was delegated to the prosecutors’ offices in Milan, Bologna and Genoa, where the victims’ bodies were returned.
“What happened is not a disaster: it is the result of too many people who did not do their job or who thought they were making easy money,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said at a press conference on Friday. “Those responsible must be identified and prosecuted.”
Meloni said that the State Prosecutor’s Office contacted the Swiss Attorney General to follow up on the investigation and confirmed that the Rome Prosecutor’s Office had launched a separate investigation.
“The families have my word that they will not be left alone as they seek justice,” she added.
The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday that it had opened an investigation to assist the Swiss investigation and facilitate the communication of the French victims’ families with Swiss investigators. Nine French citizens were killed, the youngest of whom was 14 years old, and 23 others were injured.
