Around 40 people were killed and more than 110 others injured after a fire broke out at a bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort in Valais Canton in southwestern Switzerland, local police said on Thursday.
Valais Canton Police Chief Frederic Gisler confirmed the casualty figures at a second press conference held in the afternoon.
“We are counting around 40 people who have died and 115 injured, most of them seriously,” Gisler told reporters.
Those injured, most of them young people, were taken to hospitals in Sion, capital of Valais Canton, as well as in other cities, including Lausanne, Zurich and Geneva, according to police.
Mathias Reynard, president of the Valais cantonal government, said some of the injured may later be transferred to hospitals abroad.
Local media earlier reported, citing police, that a major fire erupted at a bar in the center of Crans-Montana on New Year’s Eve. The alarm was raised shortly after 1:30 a.m. local time, prompting the deployment of dozens of ambulances from several cantons as well as multiple helicopters.
President of the Swiss Confederation Guy Parmelin described the incident as one of the worst tragedies in the country’s history.
“The government would like to express its condolences to all the relatives,” Parmelin said.
Flags at the Federal Palace will be flown at half-mast for five days, Parmelin added, stressing that such tragedies must be prevented in the future.
Valais Canton Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire.
The number of people inside the bar at the time of the incident remains unknown, according to media reports.
Reynard said the investigation will take time and that identifying the victims is proving challenging.
Parmelin postponed his planned New Year’s address and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
The Valais cantonal administration announced that the canton has declared a state of emergency.
