"Several dozen" people are believed to have died and around 100 injured when a fire ripped through a crowded bar in the luxury Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana, police said on Thursday.

"Unfortunately several dozen individuals are presumed dead," Frederic Gisler, police commander in the Wallis canton in southwestern Switzerland told a press conference.

The Italian foreign ministry said information from ‍Swiss police pointed to about 40 deaths at the bar, which is called Le Constellation.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause but that investigators had ruled out an attack.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theatre at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, according to regional councillor Mathias Rénard, with some of the victims having to be transferred elsewhere.

Ten helicopters and 40 ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

Officials called the incident an “embrasement généralisé”, a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” Rénard said. (Agencies)
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Last updated: 2026-01-01 HKT 18:30