After a devastating fire broke out in a club in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, police say around 40 people have died, and another 115 are injured, with 80 in critical condition.
The working theory as to how the fire spread so quickly is that a “flashover” erupted after the wooden ceiling of the basement bar caught fire, likely due to sparklers on champagne bottles, with one witness stating that they saw a waitress holding such bottles being hoisted up on a man’s shoulders at one point.
Photos circulating online not only show waitresses carrying said champagne bottles with lit sparklers attached but also the narrow staircase leading out of the basement, which clearly became an impossible exit for a stampede of terrified revelers. Another photo also shows the ceiling on fire.
Écoute-moi bien, parce que je ne vais pas mâcher mes mots : ce massacre au Constellation à Crans-Montana n’est pas un “accident”. C’est un carnage prévu, une chaîne de négligences criminelles qui schlingue la cupidité à plein nez et le mépris absolu pour la vie des jeunes.
Oui,… pic.twitter.com/yQd1pSZPjV
— Tony Truant (@TonyTruant01) January 2, 2026“On New Year’s Eve, a fire in the ‘Le Constellation’ bar in Crans-Montana caused a flashover, resulting in one or more explosions and numerous deaths and injuries,” read the official State Council release.
Fire safety expert Sandra Barz told ARD news that a flashover is when a “small fire event” releases heat into the surrounding air, accumulates under the ceiling, leading to temperatures that can reach as high as 1200 degrees Celcius. All flammable materials will then start to chemically decompose and produce certain gases.
The resulting firestorm can result in oxygen levels below 4 percent, in other words, an “unsurvivable” environment, even for firefighters without the right protection, she added.
Many of those at the bar are said to have been foreigners visiting the luxury ski resort over the holidays. Most of the victims are also said to be between the ages of 16 and 26, with 22 airlifted by helicopter to the University Hospital in Lausanne, according to Welt.
Chief physician of the Morges hospital, Wassim Raffoul, told RTS that the Lausanne University Hospital alone had admitted approximately 13 adults and 8 minors “whose body surface area was burned over more than 60 percent.”
Welt also cites a statement from the Italian ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, who told Sky TG24 that local authorities had informed him the fire was started by someone setting off a firework in the bar, which then ignited the ceiling. Of the injured, 13 are Italian, with another six Italians missing.
One young man from France, just 16 years old, told press that he had escaped the “total chaos” by pushing out a plexiglass window panel with a chair. He lost one friend in the fire, while another two or three are missing.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin described the incident as one of the worst tragedies in the country’s history, posting a video on Instagram offering his condolences to the victims’ families. In the wake of the incident, many parents arrived on scene searching for their teenage or young adult kids.
He has also postponed his normal New Year’s address.
