A New Year’s celebration at one of Switzerland’s most exclusive ski resorts turned into a scene of horror when a fast-moving fire ripped through a crowded underground nightclub, killing more than 40 people, injuring over 100 others, and leaving a 19-year-old French professional soccer player fighting for his life with severe burns. Swiss officials said the blaze triggered a rapid “flashover,” causing the basement to ignite almost instantly.
Tahirys Dos Santos, a defender with French club FC Metz, was among those critically injured in the blaze that erupted at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana. Vacationing in the Swiss Alps with friends, Dos Santos was caught inside the packed basement venue as flames surged across the low wooden ceiling, triggering a rapid “flashover” that officials say caused nearly everything combustible in the room to ignite at once.
FC Metz said Dos Santos was due back at training this week and that the club is “deeply shocked” and supporting him and his family.
He was later airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Germany as Swiss burn units were overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster. According to New York Post website, witnesses told the French media that the fire broke out in the basement after a sparkler attached to a champagne bottle ignited the bar’s low wooden ceiling.
Swiss authorities said burn units were quickly overwhelmed, forcing some of the most critically injured to be transferred to hospitals in neighboring countries. The identification of victims is expected to take days. Authorities warned that many bodies were so badly burned they could not be identified visually.
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Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who had assumed the presidency just hours earlier as the new year began, described the blaze as “one of the worst tragedies our country has ever experienced.” He said the scale of the loss had plunged Switzerland into mourning at the start of 2026.
The disaster stunned Crans-Montana, a normally festive Alpine resort preparing to host next year’s World Ski Championships. It is located about 40 kilometers north of the Matterhorn and 130 kilometers south of Zurich.
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