The provisional toll of victims of the disaster that occurred during the new year celebration in the Swiss station of Crans-Montana continues to increase, as Swiss authorities investigate the origin of an unprecedented tragedy in the country which has declared five days of official mourning.
The latest official data speaks of at least 40 dead and 115 injured, most of them are in a very serious condition and probably of foreign nationality, given the clearly international character of the station.
What was the cause of the fire?
What caused the devastating fire and how the flames spread so quickly from the basement to ground floor of ‘La Constellation’ The entrapment of the occupants remains under investigation.
Initial theories included fireworks or firecrackers that exploded inside the premises, as stated by the Italian Ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado and even lit candles on bottles of champagne, but the investigating authorities remain silent on these points.
The statements of those present help to clarify the circumstances. A witness, Jeoffroy D’Amecourt, told Radiotélévision Suisse that he had heard a very strong explosion which does not seem to be caused by fireworks, The noise was really different. Other testimonies collected by the Swiss media They describe a chaotic escape from the scene The deputy mayor of Ascona, Michela Ris, reported that some young people came out covered in blood, others without clothes and described the scene as a real massacre.
Among the testimonies is also that of two young French people who declared to the BFMTV channel that the fire had been caused by certain people. burn candles on champagne bottles shortly before midnight. One of them got too close to the roof that caught fire and in a few seconds everything burned, according to what they said, emphasizing that the roof was made of wood. A tourist also confirmed the presence of these twinkling lights and explained that sparks would have ignited in the false ceiling immediately spreading throughout the room.
Why was it so virulent?
Authorities explained that although it is not yet known what caused the fire, there is already a technical explanation why the fire became extremely virulent and deadly in a matter of seconds. According to what they indicated inside the enclosure a phenomenon known as flashover, A sudden and violent spread of fire in enclosed spaces which causes an almost instantaneous transition from a localized fire to a generalized fire. Under these conditions, the heat accumulated under the roof and the combustion gases increase the temperature to several hundred degrees in a very short time, causing the simultaneous ignition of other combustible materials and generating an environment incompatible with survival.
Did the premises comply with safety regulations?
Other aspects are being studied to understand the severity of the disaster and the resulting number of deaths are the security measures put in place in the basement and the materials used after a recent renovation of the place. Why the fire prevention systems were not activated in time and why the young people were trapped Each hypothesis is carefully evaluated.
Several witnesses also highlighted the difficulty of evacuating the premises, emphasizing that the exit door was too small for the number of people present and that someone broke a window to facilitate the escape while the interior was already on fire.
Questioned about these testimonies, the general prosecutor of the canton of Valais Béatrice Pilloud explained that she had been personally at the scene of the events but that she will neither confirm nor deny any of these statements. He stressed that the investigation would focus on determine whether or not the establishment met all standards and current safety requirements both with regard to exits, staircases, materials used and prevention systems as well as in the conditions derived from the recent renovation of the premises, and stressed that any conclusions must be based exclusively on the technical results of the expertises.
Pilloud categorically ruled out that it was an attack and stressed that all actions are carried out with the greatest judicial and human rigor.
The prosecutor also insisted that the top priority currently goes to forensic medicine, responsible for identifying the bodies, many of which are in an extremely complex state due to the violence of the fire. He explained that it is a particularly delicate work and that it will be a long process which will require time, rigor and specialized means before the bodies can be returned to their families and offer them a reliable and respectful response.
Confederation President Guy Parmelin later announced that federal flags would fly at half-mast for five days of official mourning as a sign of respect and prayer and said Switzerland today mourned the victims but also paid tribute to those who acted with dedication and professionalism. extraordinary in extreme circumstances From the cantonal police to the firefighters, including the health services and the civil protection teams, everyone worked as one, he said, underlining the interregional solidarity displayed from the first minute.
Psychological care
Authorities also reported that emergency lines and psychological care systems were activated to help the injured and wounded. relatives of the victims and people present at the scener at the time of the tragedy. Specialist psychological support teams were made available from the early hours and a coordination system was put in place across emergency services, including international numbers, to centralize information and support for families.
Several people pray in the Catholic church in the town of Crans-Montana after the tragedy.P.A.
The tragedy broke out around 1:30 a.m., as explained during a press conference by the chief of the Valais cantonal police, Frédéric Gisler, and the responsible for emergency services. It was at this time that the first calls were received warning of the presence of smoke and fire inside the premises. Just a minute or two later The major incident protocol has been activated and at 1:32 a.m. the first police patrols were already in place to secure the perimeter and facilitate the first evacuations.
Between 1:33 a.m. and 1:35 a.m. the first fire crews arrived and health care who immediately launched relief operations inside the establishment and the emergency care of the injured while trying to contain the spread of the flames. In the minutes that followed and until around 2 a.m., the top priority was the evacuation of those trapped, the stabilization of the seriously injured and the organization of the first transfers to hospitals.
300 soldiers
From that moment on, the system expanded very significantly with the mobilization of more than forty ambulancesthe participation of around 300 soldiers between police, fire, health and civil protection and the commissioning of a dozen medical evacuation helicopters which made it possible to transfer the most seriously injured to units specializing in severe burns in several Swiss cantons. THE interregional coordination made it possible to redistribute patients and avoid saturation of the nearest hospitals.
The 115 injured, many of whom had serious burns and complex injuries, were transferred mainly to hospitals in Sion Lausanne and Zurichwhere some of the main specialist burn units are located. Given the scale of the emergency France, Germany and Italy immediately offered help. and they made hospital beds and medical resources available to the Swiss authorities as well as the possibility of receiving injured people to treat them in their own centers if necessary.
The authorities further recognized that due to the distinctly international character of Crans-Montana and the strong presence of foreign tourists during the New Year celebrations, it is very likely that among the victims there are people of several nationalities although they insisted that no data in this regard will be confirmed until the identification process is completely completed and all families have been informed beforehand.
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