![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-owners-of-the-le-constellation-bar-in-crans-montana-wher-HTPFGWT7DJBQNM2KACFIFJVG3A.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSwitzerland has held a national day of mourning for the 40 people who died in an Alpine bar fire during a New Year\u2019s Eve celebration, as prosecutors requested one of the managers to be placed in pre-trial detention.<\/p>\n
Valais region\u2019s chief prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said in a statement the detention of the man was needed to avoid a \u201crisk of flight.\u201d The man’s wife and co-manager will remain free under judicial supervision, the statement said.<\/p>\n
A Swiss business register lists French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti as the owners of Le Constellation bar, in the Alpine resort of Crans-Montana, where a fire broke out less than two hours after midnight on January 1. <\/p>\n
As well as the fatalities, 116 people were injured, many of them seriously.<\/p>\n
Local media reported that Moretti was being held in custody pending the court\u2019s decision after the couple were questioned by prosecutors in Sion on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The owners of the “Le Constellation” bar in Crans-Montana, where the deadly fire happened on New Year’s Day, Jacques und Jessica Moretti from France, center, arrive with their lawyers (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Swiss authorities have opened a criminal probe into the owners, who are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm, and involuntarily causing a fire.<\/p>\n
A memorial service and a minute’s silence marked Friday\u2019s national homage, while church bells across Switzerland rang out for five minutes, beginning at 2 p.m.. Across the country, people gathered to light candles, put down flowers for the victims and followed the national ceremony that was livestreamed on public television.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the memorial ceremony in Martigny, Swiss President Guy Parmelin said that \u201cthe memory of that terrible night illuminates the faces of the 156 victims, their happy days, their carefree spirit.”<\/p>\n
He added: “Our country is appalled by this tragedy. It bows before the memory of those who are no longer with us. It stands by the bedside of those who are about to embark on a long road to recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investigators have said they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling. <\/p>\n
Authorities are looking into whether soundproofing material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. <\/p>\n
Fire safety inspections hadn\u2019t been carried out since 2019.<\/p>\n
The severity of burns made it difficult to identify some victims, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. <\/p>\n
Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.<\/p>\n
An autopsy has been ordered for five of the six Italian victims and has been delegated to the prosecutors’ offices in Milan, Bologna, and Genoa, where the bodies of the victims have been returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened is not a disaster: It\u2019s the result of too many people who didn\u2019t do their job or who thought they were making easy money,\u201d Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said during a press conference on Friday. <\/p>\n
\u201cThose responsible must be identified and prosecuted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meloni said the State Attorney General\u2019s Office has contacted the Swiss Attorney General to follow the investigation. <\/p>\n
She also confirmed that the Rome Prosecutor\u2019s Office has started a separate probe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe families have my word that they will not be left alone while they seek justice,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
The Paris prosecutor\u2019s office Monday announced that it was opening a probe to assist the Swiss investigation and make it easier for families of French victims to communicate with Swiss investigators. <\/p>\n
Nine French citizens were killed, the youngest of them aged 14, and 23 others were injured.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Switzerland has held a national day of mourning for the 40 people who died in an Alpine bar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[67,42,43,40,38,41,39,1745],"class_list":{"0":"post-225693","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-crime-and-justice","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories","15":"tag-uk-europe"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}