Swiss Police Identify 16 More Victims from New Year's Fire

Tragedy Strikes Crans-Montana Mountain Resort

The Swiss police have announced the identification of an additional 16 individuals who perished in a devastating fire at a bar during New Year's Eve, raising the total death toll to 40 in one of the country's most tragic disasters. According to information provided by the Valais police, the identified victims include 10 Swiss citizens, two Italians, one individual with Italian-Emirati nationality, one Romanian, as well as one French and one Turkish person.

Thus far, 24 victims have been identified from the fire at Le Constellation bar in the southern Swiss resort of Crans-Montana. Families of the victims are anxiously awaiting news about their loved ones. Among those identified, the youngest victim is a 14-year-old Swiss girl, followed by two other Swiss girls aged 15. According to the police, another 10 bodies identified on Sunday are teenagers aged between 16 and 18, including two Swiss men aged 20 and 31, and a 39-year-old French man.

Authorities continue their efforts to identify the remaining victims, after the fire injured approximately 119 individuals, some of whom suffered severe burns and have been transferred to burn units across Europe. The local community is deeply affected by this tragedy. Damiano Vizioli, a 24-year-old from the nearby city of Sion, was in the Le Constellation bar on New Year's Eve but stepped outside to smoke a cigarette just as the bar became engulfed in flames. "I can’t sleep well because I hear people screaming," Vizioli told Reuters. He returned to the bar, desperate for news about a friend who worked there and has not been heard from since.

Eric Schmid, a 63-year-old local businessman, stated that this disaster will leave a profound mark on the community and that it will take time to heal. "We, the Swiss, are mountain people. We will survive, of course, but that is not the most important thing," he said. "It’s more about the children and all these affected individuals. But the messages and signs of solidarity are extremely important," he added.

The Swiss public prosecutor announced on Saturday that two of the bar's operators are under criminal investigation for suspected involuntary manslaughter.