What we know about Swiss ski resort fires

A fire at a ski resort in southern Switzerland is expected to have killed dozens of people and injured more than 100 people, officials said.

The New Year’s Day fire broke out at 01:30 local time (00:30 GMT) at a bar called Le Constellation in the Crans Montana resort, police said, adding that multiple nationalities may have been involved.

The district’s chief prosecutor said the fire was being treated as a fire and “without a doubt” was an attack.

A helpline has been set up for concerned families: +41 848 112 117

Here’s what we know so far.

At a press conference Thursday morning, police said “dozens” of people were thought to have died in the fire, but it was too early to give an exact number.

The Italian Foreign Ministry quoted Swiss police as saying that about 40 people were believed to have died.

Swiss officials said about 100 people were injured, most of them with severe burns. Most people have been taken to cantonal Valais hospitals, where intensive care units are now full, according to local authorities. A burn center in neighboring Milan, Italy, has been put into use.

Ten helicopters, 40 ambulances and 150 emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene.

Beatrice Piloud, the region’s chief prosecutor, said efforts were underway to identify the victims and return the bodies to their families as soon as possible.

Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said it could take weeks to identify the deceased. Earlier, Italy’s foreign minister said identification would be difficult due to severe burns.

People from multiple countries are believed to be involved, with French media reporting that at least two of the injured were French nationals.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed France’s “full solidarity and brotherly support” to Switzerland.

The British Embassy in Switzerland said it was monitoring the situation but had not yet sought help.

The Foreign Office said in a statement that consular staff are on standby to provide support to any affected British nationals.

The cause was not immediately clear, but Ms Piloud said it was being treated as a fire and “there is absolutely no question of any attack”.

Asked about earlier reports of explosions, regional security officer Stefan Ganzer said “it was not the detonation of the explosive device that started the fire, but the fire’s growth that caused the explosion and led to a full-blown house fire.”

Two French citizens who said they were at the bar described seeing a waitress place a birthday candle on a bottle of champagne.

“One of the candles was too close to the ceiling and caught fire. Within seconds, the entire ceiling was on fire. Everything was made of wood,” Emma and Albane told French outlet BFMTV.

They described evacuation as “very difficult” because the escape routes were “narrow” and the stairs leading outside were “even narrower”.

Regional police commander Frédéric Gisler said smoke was first seen coming from a bar at around 01:30 local time, and emergency services were called.

Mr Giesler said the first police officers rushed to the scene and a large rescue team was subsequently deployed.

Le Constellation is a large bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana that has been around for many years.

The BBC’s Silvia Costeloe reports from the resort that while the resort itself is quite upscale, the Constellation Hotel isn’t particularly luxurious.

There is an area upstairs with a TV screen where people can watch football matches. Downstairs is a big bar where people probably drank and danced.

It can accommodate up to 300 people and has a small patio, but it’s unclear how many people were there at the time of the fire.

The Christmas and New Year holidays are one of the busiest times of the year in alpine ski resorts, and bars are likely to be packed with Swiss and tourists celebrating the start of 2026.