Swiss Ski Resort Blaze Victims Receive Care in Specialist Clinics Across Europe

Those who escaped of the devastating bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in special burns units across Europe, while investigators say many of the deceased were so severely injured that naming the victims could take an extended period.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and underground club.

“Our primary goal is to put names to all the bodies,” said Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the devastating toll. “Beyond these numbers are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was exceptionally difficult. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their family members and diplomatic missions worked urgently to determine if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst disasters to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, according to news agencies.

A significant number of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are missing and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the death toll at 47, based on early data.

A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “surprised” by the higher number. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet.

The Italian ambassador said all but five of the injured had now been named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Some victims were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and additional individuals remained missing. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using social media to share images of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was deeply traumatized,” Martins said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend managed to get news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and moved to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be protracted and demanding, lasting many weeks or even many months.”