Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Dozens of people—initial reports said over 40—were feared killed and over a hundred wounded, many of them critically, when a power explosion ripped through an Alpine ski resort in Switzerland during the New Year celebrations, the media reported on Thursday.
The fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar in the Crans-Montana resort, the BBC reported.
Several dozen people were presumed to have died and more than 100 were injured following a fire at a ski resort in southern Switzerland, officials said.
Police said several nationalities were likely involved in the New Year’s Day fire, which happened at 01:30 local time (00:30GMT).
The incident is being treated as a fire and there is “no question” of an attack, the region’s chief prosecutor said.
At a news conference on Thursday morning, police said “several dozen” people were presumed to have died in the fire, although it was too early to give a precise number.
The Italian foreign ministry – citing Swiss police – said it believed around 40 people had died.
More than 100 people have been injured, mostly with severe burns, Swiss officials said. They were taken to Valais Hospital where the intensive care unit is now full, according to local authorities.
Ten helicopters, 40 ambulances and 150 emergency workers were sent to the scene.
Work is ongoing to identify the victims and return bodies to families as quickly as possible, the region’s chief-prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said.
Authorities said people from several countries were involved. The UK embassy in Switzerland says it is monitoring the situation but it has not been approached for assistance.
What caused the fire?
The cause of the fire is unknown but Pilloud said it is currently being treated as a fire and “at no time is there a question of any attack.”
Police initially said there had been an explosion, but have since referred to it as a fire and said it is too early to speculate on the cause.
Local reports had also suggested pyrotechnics could have been involved.
The regional police commander, Frédéric Gisler, said smoke was first seen emanating from a bar at around 01:30 local time, at which point emergency services were called.
The first police officers were quickly on the scene followed by a major deployment of rescue teams, Gisler said.
Le Constellation is a large bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana. Although the resort itself is quite upmarket, it was not particularly posh.
It could hold up to 300 people and had a small terrace, although it is unknown how many people were there at the time of the fire.
The Christmas and New Year holidays are among the busiest times of the year for Alpine ski resorts, and it is likely the bar was full of Swiss people and tourists celebrating the start of 2026.