A packed New Year's Eve party at a Swiss ski resort turned into a mass-casualty disaster, with "several dozen" dead and about 100 injured, reports the Guardian. A blaze erupted around 1:30am local time Thursday in Le Constellation, a popular bar in the high-end resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, authorities said. Most of the injured are in serious condition, and victims were airlifted to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva, and Zurich.
A no-fly zone was declared over the area, and officials deployed 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances as emergency crews worked through the night. Swiss officials say there is no indication the explosion was intentional. "At the moment we are considering this a fire and we are not considering the possibility of an attack," prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud told reporters, per Reuters, while confirming a full investigation is underway. The AP reports that officials called the blaze an "embrasement généralisé," a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, citing early information from Swiss police, said the fire may have been triggered by fireworks or a firecracker, but that remains unconfirmed. Italy's foreign ministry said around 40 people were believed dead, though local police have not given a precise toll, notes Reuters. Some of those killed and injured are foreign nationals, according to cantonal security chief Stephane Ganzer.
"What was meant to be a moment of joy turned, on the first day of the year in Crans-Montana, into mourning that touches the entire country and far beyond," Swiss Federal President Guy Parmelin wrote on X.
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