"The bar's two managers are suspected of offences including homicide by negligence, causing bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, prosecutors in Valais, the canton that is home to the bar in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana, said in a statement on Saturday."
"It was an enormous tragedy. We're all so sorry that this had to happen, Beat Jans, the Swiss justice minister, told reporters, standing in front of the cordoned-off bar, Le Constellation. He said temperatures during the blaze must have reached 500, 600 degrees [Celsius, or 900-1,100 Fahrenheit]."
"The managers of the resort were reported by multiple outlets to be a man and a woman from France. The man is believed to have been away while the woman was inside the bar and suffered burns to her arm, according to the French broadcaster BFM TV. Switzerland's Tribune de Geneve reported that the man told the newspaper the bar had been checked three times in 10 years and that everything was done within the standards."
Public prosecutors in Valais opened a criminal investigation into the managers of a Crans-Montana bar on suspicion of homicide by negligence, causing bodily harm by negligence, and arson by negligence. A New Year's fire at the bar killed at least 40 people and injured 119, including severe burns, with many victims still awaiting identification two days later. Estimated temperatures during the blaze reached 500–600 degrees Celsius. The managers were identified as a French man and woman; the woman suffered burns to her arm while the man was believed to be away. The managers and many others have been questioned and investigators continue gathering information about the event and past work at the bar.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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