A fire that tore through a bar at a Swiss ski resort killing at least 40 people likely started when "fountain candle" sparklers were held aloft too close to the ceiling, the region's chief prosecutor has said.
One of the owners of the ski resort has told Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve that the bar complied with regulations and that the bar had been inspected three times in ten years.
Investigators are combing through the blackened ruins of the venue, examining videos on social media and interviewing survivors for clues on how the fire began in the early hours of New Year's Day in the bar's basement and spread so fast.
Witnesses have recounted seeing bar staff carrying sparkling fountain candles attached to bottles of champagne.
The Valais canton's chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said the sparklers were a leading line of enquiry that looked to be firming up.
"Everything suggests that the fire started from the burning sparklers ... that had been attached to champagne bottles and were moved too close to the ceiling," Ms Pilloud told a news conference.
"From there, a rapid, very rapid and widespread blaze ensued."
However investigators are pursuing several hypotheses and no scenario has been ruled out, she added.
Meanwhile, investigators have focused on the painful task of identifying the burned bodies, warning that this process was very sensitive and would take time.
So severe were the burns that Swiss officials said it could take days before they name all those killed in the fire.
The official toll is 40 dead, while 119 have been injured, many of them very seriously. Those numbers are not final, officials said.
"Many of those injured are still fighting for their lives today," Valais area chief Mathias Reynard told a news conference.
Watch: Footage shows attempts to put out flames before the blaze rapidly spread
Around 50 of the injured have been, or will be, transferred to burn units in hospitals elsewhere in Europe, he said. Germany and France are among the countries treating some of the injured.
Of the injured, 113 have been identified, 71 of whom are Swiss, 14 French and 11 Italian, four Serbian, one Bosnian, one Belgian, one Polish, one Portuguese and one Luxembourgish, police chief Frederic Gisler told the same news conference.
The investigation will also focus on previous renovations at the Constellation bar and the materials used, the availability of adequate fire extinguishing systems and escape routes, and the number of people who were in the bar when the fire started.
Ms Pilloud said the investigators were examining acoustic-dampening foam in the ceiling of the basement to assess whether it complied with regulations, whether officials authorised its installation, and what role it played in the fire's rapid spread.
The probe will determine if inspectors had carried out annual building inspections, but the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton, Stephane Ganzer, head of security in Valais, told the news conference.
Jacques Moretti, one of the owners of the bar, told Swiss and Italian media that the renovations had been carried out "in accordance with regulations".
Investigators have interviewed the French couple, who bought the bar in the Crans-Montana resort in 2015, according to the Valais company registry.
First victim of Swiss bar blaze named as young Italian
The Italian Golf Federation has said that 16-year-old Emanuele Galeppini, an international golfer from Italy who had been living in Dubai, was the first of several possible victims from the blaze.
Emanuele had been in Crans-Montana with his family. Italian media reported that he had gone to Le Constellation bar with two friends. They managed to escape the fire and were taken to nearby hospitals.
"The Italian Golf Federation mourns the passing of Emanuele Galeppini, a young athlete who carried with him passion and genuine values," the federation said in a statement.
Parents and friends of missing youths have issued pleas for news of their loved ones as foreign embassies scrambled to work out if their nationals were among those caught up in the tragedy.
"I have been searching for my son for 30 hours. The wait is unbearable," Laetitia, the mother of missing 16-year-old Arthur, told BFM TV, saying she was desperate to know if he was alive or dead, and where.
"If he's in the hospital, I don't know which hospital he's in. If he's in the morgue, I don't know which morgue he's in. If my son is alive, he's alone in the hospital, and I can't be by his side," she said.
Marco, a 20-year-old from Milan, told Reuters outside Le Constellation that 20 of his friends were missing.
"Some of them are injured, in bad condition. Some of them are completely safe. And some of our friends, we don't have any news. They told us they never found them," he said.
"Nobody can help us find our friends."
Several witness accounts, broadcast by Swiss, French and Italian media, meanwhile pointed to sparklers that were apparently mounted on champagne bottles held aloft by restaurant staff as part of a regular "show" for patrons who made special orders to their tables.
There were "waitresses with champagne bottles and little sparklers. They got too close to the ceiling, and suddenly it all caught fire", one witness told the Italian media outlet Local Team.
Pictures and videos shared on social media also showed sparklers on champagne bottles held into the air, as an orange glow began spreading across the ceiling.
One video showed the flames spreading quickly as revellers initially continued to dance, not seeming to grasp the severity of the situation.
Watch: 'We could have been dead because we decided to go party'
This morning, several hearses began moving the bodies of the victims to a funeral centre in nearby Sion.
Le Constellation had a capacity of 300 people, plus another 40 people on its terrace, according to the Crans-Montana website.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin called the fire "a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions", and announced that flags would be flown at half mast for five days.
He said authorities were "in close contact with the victims' families, whom we are informing in real time, as well as with the various embassies involved".
"Given the international nature of the Crans resort, we can expect foreign nationals to be among the victims," he told reporters.
The flag at the Irish embassy in Berne was flying at half mast today in solidarity with those affected by the tragedy.
In solidarity with the people of Switzerland following the tragedy in Crans-Montana, our Irish flag flies at half mast today in Berne. Our thoughts are with all of those affected. pic.twitter.com/D9ZUI3N0Rn
— Embassy of Ireland, Switzerland (@IrlEmbBerne) January 2, 2026
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said yesterday that the Irish embassy in Switzerland is monitoring the situation and will provide consular assistance when required.
She said that any Irish citizen in need of consular assistance can contact the embassy on +41(0) 313500380 or +353 (0) 14082000.
Watch: Hundreds gather for vigil to remember victims of Swiss fire
The fire broke out around 1.30am (12.30am Irish time) yesterday at Le Constellation, a bar popular with young tourists.
"We thought it was just a small fire - but when we got there, it was war," Mathys, from neighbouring Chermignon-d'en-Bas said.
"That's the only word I can use to describe it: the apocalypse. It was terrible."
"We've tried to reach our friends. We took loads of photos and posted them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible social networks to try to find them," said Eleonore, 17.
"But there's nothing. No response. Even the parents don't know," she added.
One young man playfully attempts to extinguish the flames with a large white cloth, but the scene becomes panic-stricken as people scramble and scream in the dark against a backdrop of smoke and flames.
Red and white caution tape, flowers and candles adorned the street where the fire occurred, while police shielded the site with white screens.
After the emergency units at the local hospitals filled up, many of the injured were transported across Switzerland and to neighbouring countries.
The European Union said it has been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance, while French President Emmanuel Macron said some of the injured were being cared for in French hospitals.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland stood ready to help and, at Switzerland's request, could admit 14 injured people to Polish hospitals for specialist medical treatment.
"All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure," said Mathias Reynard, head of government of the canton of Valais. Experts were using dental and DNA samples to identify the victims, he said.
