Family shocked Swiss ski bar not inspected for years before fatal fire

Relatives of the victims of a New Year’s Eve fire in a Swiss bar have expressed shock after officials admitted the bar had not had safety inspections in five years.

Romain Jordan, who represents some of the families, said “the alarming number of irregularities and deficiencies that emerged during the inspections raises the question of whether the municipality’s investigation should be carried out with more urgency”.

Other lawyers also urged officials to be held accountable for the disaster at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, which killed 40 people and injured 116 others.

Prosecutors believe the fire started when a champagne bottle containing pyrotechnics ignited insulation foam in the ceiling.

Two bar managers have been placed Under criminal investigationbut was not detained.

French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti are charged with manslaughter, negligent bodily injury and negligent arson.

In their first statement since the fire, they said they were “shocked” and pledged to “cooperate fully” with the investigation.

Venues like Le Constellation are supposed to be inspected annually, but Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud said on Tuesday he could not explain why they had not been inspected for so long.

“We regret this – we owe it to these families and we will take responsibility,” he said.

Fireworks will be banned at local venues, he added.

Most of the fire victims were young people, eight of whom were under the age of 16.

Many of the injured suffered severe burns and are being treated in Switzerland and other European countries.

Funerals for some of the deceased are being held.

According to Switzerland’s political system, power is distributed among the three federal levels, the 26 cantons and approximately 2,131 municipalities.

While safety regulations are set by states, they need to be enforced by local authorities.