Swiss prosecutors say the French managers of a bar where a fire killed 40 people have been placed under criminal investigation.
The blaze at Le Constellation in Crans-Montana on New Year’s Eve injured 119 other people, officials have said. With many of the injured identified, families now face an agonising wait for information about those still missing.
The bodies of two Swiss women aged 21 and 16, and two Swiss men aged 18 and 16 were the first to be indentified and returned to their families, police said earlier.
The likely cause of the fire was sparklers on champagne bottles being carried too close to the ceiling, a preliminary investigation of how the fire began found.
The French managers of Le Constellation are suspected of having committed homicide by negligence, causing bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, the prosecutors’ office in the canton of Valais said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
Switzerland’s President Guy Parmelin called it “one of the worst tragedies” experienced by the country.
Further details about the identified victims, including names, have not been released.
On Friday, police said 113 of the injured have been identified, and include 71 Swiss, 14 French and 11 Italian citizens.
Among the dead and missing are many teenagers. Le Constellation was a venue known to be popular with a younger crowd in the ski resort town, where the drinking age is 16.
A teenage golfer from Italy was the first death to be named, though Swiss and Italian officials have so far declined to confirm his death.
Bunches of flowers, soft toys and messages of love and hope are piled up outside the police barriers outside the bar.
On Saturday, families were being directed to a conference centre just outside Crans. Members of the Italian Civil Protection team met people there, together with Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado.
Ambassador Cornado said the identification process was continuing on Saturday and should be completed by Sunday afternoon.
The slow process is because of the severity of the burns many of the victims suffered, the ambassador added.
A helpline has been set up for concerned families: +41 848 112 117
