Switzerland to hold five days of mourning after 40 killed in resort fire

"Witnesses said the fire broke out at 1.30am in the town's Le Constellation bar after sparklers or flares were put into champagne bottles. Two women told the French broadcaster BFMTV a bartender carried a female member of staff who was holding a one of the bottles. The flames set fire to the ceiling. Within seconds the blaze had spread, engulfing a crowded basement packed with new year's revellers."

"Switzerland will hold five days of mourning after an unprecedented fire tore through a crowded bar, killing about 40 people and injuring 115 who were celebrating at a New Year's Eve party in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana. The country's president, Guy Parmelin, described the blaze as one of the most traumatic events in Switzerland's history. It was a drama of an unknown scale, he said, paying tribute to the many young lives that were lost and interrupted."

A fire tore through the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana during a New Year's Eve celebration, killing about 40 people and injuring 115. Sparks or flares placed into champagne bottles ignited the ceiling around 1.30am and flames spread rapidly. The blaze engulfed a crowded basement filled largely with teenagers and young revelers, triggering a panic and a deadly crowd surge on a narrow stairway. Rescue and medical teams treated survivors and hospitalized dozens, including some in coma. The Swiss government declared five days of mourning and the president called the event one of the country's most traumatic, pledging action to prevent recurrence.

Read at www.theguardian.com