Dozens killed, 100 injured in blaze at Swiss ski resort town

The New Year’s Eve fire occurred in a bar called Le Constellation in the Swiss town of Crans-Montana.

Several dozen people are presumed dead and about 100 have been injured after a blaze ripped through a crowded bar in the luxury Alpine ski resort town of Crans-Montana.

The fire started at about 1:30am (00:30 GMT) on Thursday morning in a bar called Le Constellation, as revellers rang in the new year, police spokesperson Gaetan Lathion said.

“Several dozen people are presumed to have died,” Frederic Gisler, the police commander in the Valais Canton in southwestern Switzerland, told reporters at a media briefing hours after the tragedy.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the fire’s cause but added that investigators have ruled out an attack.

Police said they could not immediately be more precise about how many people had been killed in the blaze. However, the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement that Swiss ‍police believe about 40 people have died.

The resort is popular with tourists. Some of the ‍victims are from ⁠other countries, said Stephane Ganzer, head of security for the Valais Canton.

A tourist from New York filmed bright orange flames pouring from the bar, and told the AFP news agency he saw people running and screaming in the dark.

Images shared by Swiss media in the immediate aftermath of the blaze showed a building in flames, and emergency services nearby.

Several killed in blaze at Swiss ski resort town

More than 100 people were in the Le Constellation bar in Crans Montana when the New Year’s Eve fire broke out.

‘Devastated’

Swiss authorities said that at around 1:30am, smoke was spotted in a bar in Crans-Montana.

The first police patrols arrived on the scene. They were followed by a large number of firefighters. Helicopters and ambulances also rushed to the scene.