Swiss Police Identify All 116 Injured in Crans-Montana Fire; 40 Dead

Swiss authorities announced on Jan. 5 that they have identified all 116 people injured in the blaze that tore through the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana during New Year’s celebrations on Jan. 1. The official count of fatalities remained at 40. Police said the injured total was revised down from an earlier figure of 119 after three hospital admissions that night were determined not to be linked to the fire.

The Valais canton chief prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation into the bar’s management, naming two managers as suspects in charges that include involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire. Investigators have said they believe the blaze was ignited by decorative “sparkling” candles placed atop Champagne bottles; authorities say the small flames likely came too close to the ceiling and set materials alight.

Police provided a detailed nationality breakdown of the injured: 68 Swiss, 21 French, 10 Italian, four Serbian, two Polish and one person each from Australia, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Republic of Congo. Four people injured hold dual nationalities. Officials said more than two-thirds of those injured remained hospitalized at the time of the Jan. 5 statement, implying at least 78 people were still receiving inpatient care, many with serious burns and smoke inhalation.

Local officials and health services in Valais face immediate logistical and humanitarian tasks: identifying bodies, coordinating repatriations, and supporting families of victims. Authorities have used the military airport in Sion to facilitate transport operations and to manage the flow of remains and relatives, with formal repatriation procedures pending completion of forensic identifications and family notifications.

The opening of a criminal probe shifts the focus from rescue and recovery to accountability. If prosecutors establish that safety rules were violated or that crowd-management measures were inadequate, the case could trigger not only criminal penalties for individuals but also civil liability for the venue and its insurers. For a resort area in the middle of the winter season, the reputational and economic fallout could be significant; Crans-Montana depends heavily on seasonal tourism and on perceptions of safety at nightlife venues and events.

Authorities also moved to counter inaccurate claims circulating on social media in the aftermath of the disaster, noting that unverified posts reporting vastly different casualty figures were not corroborated by official counts. Police characterized the 40-death, 116-injured tally as the authoritative figure and urged the public to rely on official channels for information.

Investigators said their preliminary reconstruction points to the sparkling candles as the likely ignition source, but they stressed that the full inquiry will determine the sequence of events inside the venue, whether safety regulations were breached, and the degree of culpability. In the short term, local regulators and venue operators across Switzerland are likely to face pressure to review indoor fire-safety rules for celebratory devices and to tighten enforcement during high-occupancy events.