Investigators probing the lethal New Year’s Day fire at a Swiss resort bar are wanting into the likelihood that it began from sparklers that have been too near the ceiling.
Beatrice Pilloud, Valais legal professional basic, informed reporters Friday that investigators have been nonetheless conducting interviews and going by means of proof from the wreckage on the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana however she stated that they’re “pursuing a number of hypotheses,” based mostly on the proof they’ve gathered thus far.
This {photograph} reveals the doorway of the bar Le Constellation the place a hearth ripped by means of the venue throughout New Yr’s celebrations, killing round 40 individuals and injuring greater than 100 others, within the Alpine ski-resort city of Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Jan. 2, 2026.
Maxime Schmid/AFP through Getty Pictures
“We presently assume that the fireplace was brought on by sparklers connected to champagne bottles that got here too near the ceiling,” she stated at a information convention.
“Preliminary proof has been secured on the scene,” Pilloud added.
Forty individuals have been killed and 119 individuals have been injured within the blaze, in response to authorities who stated the fireplace unfold very quickly.
Investigators are working to establish the deceased victims.
Pierre-Antoine Lengen, head of the Swiss Judicial Police, speaks throughout a press convention following a hearth and an explosion on the “Le Constellation” bar, throughout a New Yr’s Eve occasion within the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, in Sion, Switzerland, Jan. 2, 2026.
Lisa Leutner/Reuters
“No errors may be permitted. We have to give the proper stays again to the households,” Pierre-Antoine Lengen, the top of the Swiss Judicial Police, informed reporters.
Of the injured, 71 have been Swiss residents, 14 have been French, 11 have been Italian, and others have been from Bosnia, Serbia, Portugal and Belgium, in response to officers.
Mourners lay flowers and candles close to the bar Le Constellation the place a hearth ripped by means of the venue throughout New Yr’s celebrations, killing round 40 individuals and injuring greater than 100 others, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Jan. 2, 2026.
Maxime Schmid/AFP through Getty Pictures
The nationalities of the 14 different injured victims weren’t instantly decided.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Switzerland informed ABC Information in an announcement Friday that the embassy is unaware of any American victims.
“The U.S. Embassy in Bern extends our deepest condolences and sympathies to the households and family members of those that perished on this horrible tragedy,” the spokesperson stated in an announcement.
“Our ideas and prayers are with those that misplaced their lives, in addition to with the injured — particularly those that stay hospitalized and proceed to battle for his or her restoration,” they added.
Pilloud stated that extra interviews might be performed and famous that investigators spoke with the 2 French managers of the bar.
Law enforcement officials stand guard close to the bar Le Constellation, the place a hearth ripped by means of the venue throughout New Yr’s celebrations, killing round 40 individuals and injuring greater than 100 others, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Jan. 2, 2026.
Maxime Schmid/AFP through Getty Pictures
“For now, there is no such thing as a penal legal responsibility which has been recognized,” she stated when a reporter requested about any legal responsibility.
Law enforcement officials examine the realm the place a hearth broke out on the Le Constellation bar and lounge throughout a New Yr’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Jan. 1, 2026.
Alessandro della Valle/Keystone through AP
Investigators are additionally wanting into the constructing’s security measures and constructing rules, in response to Pilloud.
-ABC Information’ Aicha Elhammar contributed to this report.
