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London: Safety inspectors failed to check the Swiss bar where 40 people died in a tragic fire last week, authorities say, admitting with “bitter regret” the shocking oversight that lasted six years.
The bar had no fire alarm and only one fire extinguisher, local authorities confirmed on Tuesday, amid mounting anger at the way hundreds of young people struggled to escape the blaze in the early hours of the new year.
Sound insulation at the Crans-Montana bar catches alight on New Year’s Eve.
In a disturbing video released by Swiss broadcaster RTS, a bartender is seen warning partygoers at a previous New Year’s Eve celebration to be careful holding bottles with small fireworks attached because of the foam soundproofing on the ceiling.
“Watch out for the foam,” says the employee in the video, indicating an apparent awareness of the risk of the material catching alight.
Nicolas Féraud, the chairman of the council of Crans-Montana, the Swiss resort where the fire spread last Thursday, said there had been a failure in safety oversight of the bar since 2019, the last time it was inspected.
“We are deeply sorry. We had no indication that the checks had not been done as requested,” he told reporters.
Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud, centre, addresses the media with other councillors on Tuesday.Credit: AP
Féraud said the bar, known as Le Constellation, had passed its last inspection in 2019 and that the soundproof foam on the ceiling was considered acceptable at the time. He said the inspectors believed a fire alarm was not required due to the size of the bar.
“These soundproof panels have never been inspected, as our safety managers apparently did not deem it necessary,” he said. “The courts will have to determine whether this should have been done regardless.”
Prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into the owners of the bar, and believe the fire was started by sparks from fireworks that ignited the foam above.
One video of the celebration last Thursday shows young people reacting slowly to the flames on the foam, before panic sets in when dozens of them realise the danger and try to flee up a single staircase to the street.
Police have identified all 116 people injured in the fire after several days of seeking to confirm identities, including through the use of DNA, because of the severity of the burns. More than half the injured are Swiss.
The Australian government has said an Australian is among the injured, a fact confirmed by Swiss police on Tuesday, but no other details have been released about the person’s identity, location or injuries. Police said 83 of the victims remained in hospital on Tuesday.
The bar owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, issued a statement on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) saying they were devastated by the fire and had full confidence in the investigation.
Candles, flags and flowers honour the victims of the fire at the bar in Crans-Montana.Credit: AP
“We are devastated and overwhelmed with grief, our thoughts constantly with the victims, their loved ones bereaved so brutally and prematurely, and all those who are fighting for their lives,” the couple said in a statement reported by Swiss media.
“No words can adequately describe the tragedy that occurred that night at the Constellation.
“We will not attempt to shirk our responsibilities in any way.”
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A ceremony to honour the victims will take place on Friday in Martigny, the canton of Valais announced, with French President Emmanuel Macron expected to join Swiss and other leaders at the event.
Most of those killed were teenagers, authorities said, with the youngest aged only 14. The injured include 68 Swiss citizens, 21 French nationals, 10 Italians, four Serbs, two Poles and one person each from Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Republic of Congo, according to a police statement. There were also four dual nationals: of France and Finland, France and Italy, Switzerland and Belgium, and Italy and the Philippines.
With Reuters
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