Swiss Ski Resort Fire Survivors Receive Care in Burns Units Across Europe

Survivors of the catastrophic bar fire 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 deceased were so severely injured that identification could take an extended period.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

“The first objective is to put names to all the bodies,” said 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 tragically ended, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Families of missing youths issued pleas for news of their family members and foreign embassies scrambled to determine if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst tragedies to strike the country in recent memory.

Mathias Reynard, 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 distressing and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, according to news agencies.

Many more of the injured were transported 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 assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds 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 a foreign government 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 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. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Some victims were repatriated 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 a citizen was injured.

Families in Anguish

Relatives and friends have been working desperately to find their loved ones, using social media to share images of those unaccounted for.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident 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 said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred 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 unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

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 medically stabilized and moved to the operating theatre 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.”