Fire engulfs bar in Crans-Montana ski resort in Swiss Alps over New Year

Crans-Montana, Switzerland — A fire at a bar in the Swiss Alps left many people dead and injured during New Year’s celebrations, police said early Thursday.

“Several dozen people” are presumed dead and about 100 more injured, most of them seriously, after fire ripped through a bar during a New Year’s celebration in the municipal alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana, Switzerland, police said.

No specific numbers of victims were available after the fire at the Le Constellation bar.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the canton of Valais, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to access the interior of the rubble.

“At no time is there talk of any type of attack,” Pilloud said.

Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to help victims, including some from different countries, authorities said.

“We are devastated,” Frédéric Gisler, commander of the Valais cantonal police, said during a news conference.

The injured were so numerous that the regional hospital’s intensive care unit and operating room quickly reached maximum capacity, according to regional councilor Mathias Rénard.

In a region full of tourists skiing on the slopes, authorities have asked the local population to act with caution in the coming days to avoid accidents that could require already overwhelmed health resources.

“The fire started around 1:30 a.m. in a bar called ‘Le Constellation,'” police spokesman Gaëtan Lathion said earlier. “There were more than a hundred people in the building and we see many injured and many dead.”

Investigators were working to determine the cause of the fire, police said.

“We are just at the beginning of our research, but this is an internationally renowned ski resort with many tourists,” Lathion said.

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that they were inside when they saw a waiter carrying a waitress on his shoulders. The waitress held a lit candle in a bottle that set fire to the wooden ceiling. The flames spread quickly and collapsed the roof, they told the station.

One of the women described a surge as people frantically tried to escape a basement nightclub down a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.

Another witness who spoke to BFMTV described people breaking windows to escape the fire, some seriously injured, and terrified parents rushing to the scene in cars to see if their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people struggling to get out of the smoke and flames and compared what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.

Officials called the fire “ambrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term that describes how a fire can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or backdraft.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and unity, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Rénard, the regional government leader.

“What was a moment of joy turned into a tragedy last night in Crans-Montana, felt throughout the country and beyond,” Swiss President Guy Parmelin said in a social media post. “The Federal Council has taken note of this with deep dismay. Its thoughts are with the victims, the injured and their families and expresses its deepest condolences.”

The community of Crans-Montana is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometers north of the Matterhorn.

With high-altitude ski slopes of around 1.86 miles in the heart of the Swiss Alps, Crans-Montana is one of the winter sports centers of the ski-crazy Valais region of Switzerland, and is also home to Zermatt, Verbier and other resorts nestled in snow-capped peaks and pine forests that attract winter sports enthusiasts from all over the planet. The resort is one of the main race venues on the alpine skiing World Cup circuit and will host the next world championship for two weeks in February 2027.

In four weeks’ time, the station will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their final tests before heading to the Milan Cortina Olympic Games, which open on February 6.

Crans-Montana is also a privileged location in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club organizes the European Masters every August on a picturesque course with stunning mountain views. Le Constellation bar is about 273 meters down the road from the golf club.