Swiss bar where dozens of people died in the fire

Geneva — Fire safety inspections had not been conducted for several years at the bar where a fire broke out during a New Year’s party. It left 40 dead and more than 100 injured.local authorities said Tuesday.

Researchers have said they believe Festive glowing candles on top of champagne bottles. They started the fire at Le Constellation in the resort town of Crans-Montana when they got too close to the roof. Authorities are investigating whether the ceiling’s soundproofing material complies with regulations and whether the use of candles is allowed in the bar.

The Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation against the bar managers. The two are suspected of involuntary manslaughter, involuntary bodily harm and involuntary arson, according to the chief prosecutor of the Valais region.

Regional authorities have said that safety inspections are the responsibility of the municipality. On Tuesday, the municipality of Crans-Montana said that inspections of Le Constellation that included fire safety checks had been carried out in 2016, 2018 and 2019, and that modifications had been requested, but no issues had been raised with the soundproofing measures.

The city council discovered, after consulting documents after the fire, that “no periodic checks were carried out between 2020 and 2025,” said the head of the municipal government of Crans-Montana, Nicolas Féraud, at a press conference.

“We bitterly regret this,” he said, adding that it will be up to judicial authorities to determine what influence he may have had on the chain of events that led to the fire. “We owe it to the families and we will accept responsibility,” Féraud said.

“This tragedy has generated a feeling of uncertainty throughout the region. Now we are doing everything possible to reassure” people, he said.

Féraud said he could not immediately explain why safety inspections had not been carried out for so long.

He said that in September last year, an external expert was asked to carry out a soundproofing analysis and concluded that the bar complied with noise regulations, without commenting further.

The severity of the burns made it difficult to identify some victims of the fire that broke out around 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, forcing families to provide DNA samples to authorities.

Researchers He finished identifying the 40 dead. on Sunday and said on Monday that they had identified all 116 people who were injured.

Féraud said that the reports of the inspections carried out mentioned a maximum capacity of 100 people on the ground floor of the bar and 100 in the basement. It is unclear how many people were at Le Constellation when the fire started and investigators have said it may never be known.

The municipality said the bar’s owner obtained a permit to build a terrace in 2015 and also performed interior work at the bar that did not require a permit.

He said he has now decided to ban the use of fireworks indoors and task an outside agency with conducting inspections of such establishments.