Swiss Ski Resort Fire Survivors Are Treated in Burns Units Across Europe

Survivors of the catastrophic nightclub blaze in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units across Europe, while investigators say many of the deceased were so badly burned that naming the victims could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

Approximately 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,” stated Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the devastating toll. “Beyond these numbers are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions worked urgently to find out if their citizens were among those involved in one of the worst disasters to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, 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 findings is so terrible and delicate that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Even with one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

A significant number of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but another nation has put the death toll at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “taken aback” by the higher number. “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 identified. A number of 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 several nationals were among the injured and eight others remained missing. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.

Families in Anguish

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using online platforms to share images of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living 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 evacuated for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, 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 wall of temporary fencing, 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 explained. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. 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.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and transferred to the surgery or to intensive care units,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even months.”