Crans-Montana Fire Victims Receive Care in Burns Units Throughout the Continent

Those who escaped of the catastrophic nightclub blaze in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while authorities say many of the dead were so badly burned that identification could take an extended period.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

About 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

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

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was exceptionally difficult. Families of missing youths issued pleas for news of their family members and diplomatic missions worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst tragedies to strike the country in recent memory.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the fire. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, according to news agencies.

Many more of the injured were flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

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

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are missing and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “taken aback” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet.

The Italian ambassador said all but five of the injured had now been identified. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and eight others remained unaccounted for. Australia has said one of its nationals was hurt.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Loved ones have been working desperately to find their missing family members, using online platforms to circulate photos of those unaccounted for.

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 really in shock,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, she said she had not had contact with 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 said. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. 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 ranging in age from 16 to 26.

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