🔗 Share this article Crans-Montana Blaze Victims Receive Care in Specialist Clinics Across Europe Those who escaped of the catastrophic bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units across Europe, while investigators report many of the deceased were so severely injured that naming the victims could take days or weeks. A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and underground club. “The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,” stated local official Nicolas Féraud. The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he outlined the devastating toll. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing. Challenging Task of Naming Victims Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was exceptionally difficult. Families of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions scrambled to determine if their citizens were among those involved in one of the worst disasters to strike modern Switzerland. Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental charts and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said. Overwhelmed Medical Systems Even with one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, according to news agencies. Many more of the injured were flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online 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 unaccounted for and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana. Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information. A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “taken aback” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet. The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Some victims were returned home on Thursday with more to follow. The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens 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 working desperately to find their missing family members, using social media to circulate photos of those unaccounted for. Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident 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 told reporters. A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins stated. Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary barriers, 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 no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.” She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne. Long Road to Recovery The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26. “Patients are being medically stabilized and transferred to the surgery or to intensive care units,” 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.”