The tragedy at the Crans-Montana ski resort has affected Switzerland. At least 40 people were killed and 119 injured, most with serious burns, following the fire that destroyed the Le Constellation bar during New Year’s celebrations, according to the latest data provided this year by the authorities of the Alpine country. Investigations indicate that a cane caused the fire after igniting the local roof. This is the main hypothesis of local taxation, after having had to see the images of the moments which preceded the disaster. The incident is reminiscent of other fires in which canes and pyrotechnics were at the center of the drama.
The tragedy of the Republic of Cromañón
A fire at the República Cromañón nightclub in Buenos Aires caused 194 deaths and more than 1,400 deaths on December 30, 2004, in an incident remembered in Argentina as the Cromañón massacre. The fire was caused by a throwing cane during a concert by the rock group Los Callejeros. According to several reports, the llamas began to pass by once a night, due to sparks sent from the cane and other pyrotechnics. Before beginning to perform, members of the musical group requested that no canes be used to protect the safety of those attending the recital.
“It was the group’s first song, but immediately a cane set fire to a screen on the ceiling and started the fire. People were screaming and running like crazy. Nadie didn’t understand anything,” says Felipe, a young man aged 24 at the time. Other assistants criticized errors in the organization of the concerto and assured that “the emergency doors were blocked”. “I went through hell,” says another of the testimonies.
The fire at Club Santika in Bangkok
On January 1, 2009, a New Year’s party ended tragically at Club Santika, a nightclub in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. The three-story nightclub burned down with llamas last midday, causing panic among patrons who were in the venue at the time. The authorities never officially ruled on the causes of the fire, but the testimonies of those present indicated an accident with artificial fires deployed during celebrations or with canes lit inside the premises. Sin was lost with 67 deaths and over a hundred heirs.
Among the victims were foreigners, notably from Australia, Holland and Japan. The heritage comes from 13 different countries. The venue only had three emergency exits: one for the general public, another for employees and another which was closed at the time of the accident, which is why customers had to exit, practically one by one, through the main entrance of the nightclub, which did not comply with minimum security measures, according to local media.
Calls to the Caballo Cojo de Rusia bar
A fire in the Caballo Cojo bar, in the Russian city of Perm, 1,200 kilometers from Moscow, left 156 people dead and some 160 injured in 2009. The cause of the fire was artificial fires organized inside the place to celebrate the eighth anniversary of its inauguration. The club had been fined several times for non-compliance with fire regulations and had to be inspected again on December 7, the day after the tragedy.
“Señoras y señores, we are burning. Let’s leave the room”, I said practically without changing one of the entertainers of the party, as captured in a video by one of the assistants. Local duños were arrested. The Kremlin declared a national day of mourning and then-President Dmitry Medvedev called for tougher legislation on safety standards in bars and nightclubs.
The Kiss nightclub disaster in Brazil
A fire caused by a pyrotechnic device at the Kiss nightclub in the Brazilian town of Santa María killed 242 people, mostly young people, and another 143 people in 2013. The fire broke out when one of the members of the group Gurizada Fandangueira, who was performing there, lit a cane whose sparks apparently caught on the moss that served as insulation on the local roof, according to the Efe agency.
Many witnesses claimed that nightclub security personnel did not allow them to leave because they thought they wanted to go without paying from the premises. “A lot of the dead were crowded in the exit. Most of them died of asphyxiation. Unfortunately, people were confined because the main exit was closed,” said Col. Guido Pedroso de Melo, commander of the Río Grande do Sul state bomber corps.
Fire at Club Colectiv in Bucharest
The Club Colectiv fire in October 2015 is considered one of the worst disasters and left a deep mark in Romania. There are more than 60 dead and around 150 heirs in the center of Bucharest. A concert was organized by the heavy metal band Goodbye to Gravity, who announced that they had prepared a fireworks show. The artificial fires burn part of the ceiling behind the polyurethane foam placed to insulate the noise in the room.
The Colectiv was not authorized to make significant savings, had inadequate construction materials and insulation and did not take into account the necessary emergency exits. The tragedy sparked protests across the European country, amid outrage from thousands of citizens over the overtones of corruption planned in the wake of the tragedy. Victor Ponta, then Prime Minister, dismantled the movements.
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