Pressure was building for answers on from the investigation into a New Year bar fire in a Swiss ski resort that killed 40 people, after authorities said they had now identified all the victims, most of whom were teenagers.
The Alpine getaway of Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais united in mourning yesterday with condolences coming in from world leaders.
Prosecutors said the fire that spread rapidly in the early hours of 1 January was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ceiling of the bar’s basement.
Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes including homicide by negligence. Yesterday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being put under arrest and they did not see a flight risk.
A silent procession was held in Crans-Montana to remember the victims
The youngest victims of the blaze, which also injured more than 100 people, were only 14 years old, and the dead were from all around Europe, including several from France and Italy.
Swiss authorities have not named the victims.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media post that “in civilised Switzerland, the prison gates will have to open for quite a few people”.
Questions have been raised over the bar’s fire safety standards
He said there had been a failure to ensure the bar’s basement was safe, questioning the emergency systems and whether there had been enough inspections.
A local resident who took part in a silent procession through the town yesterday in freezing temperatures, said justice must be done for the sake of future generations.
“It’s crucial that such a tragedy never happens again. And the investigation must be thorough, because it’s so unbelievable,” she said.
A person leaves flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of the bar
Tages-Anzeiger, a leading Swiss newspaper, said questions must be answered about the age checks at the bar, the soundproofing material used in the basement and the standards governing use of the so-called fountain candles.
One of the bar’s two operators, Jacques Moretti, told Swiss media that Le Constellation had been checked three times in ten years and that everything was done according to the rules.
Valais authorities say investigators were checking if the bar had undergone its annual building inspections, but that the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton.
Bodies of five Italian teens being repatriated after Swiss fire
The bodies of five of the six Italian nationals killed in the fire are repatriated today.
The teenagers’ coffins were transported from a funeral centre in Sion, to the military section of the city’s airport.
Four Swiss police officers carried each coffin into the Italian air force plane.
The C130 transport plane was due to land first at Milan Linate airport in neighbouring Italy, from where four coffins will be transferred to Milan itself, Bologna and Genoa, Italian authorities said.
The plane was then to fly on to Rome with the fifth coffin.
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