Swiss police identified numerous more victims on Sunday, January 4, 2025, after more than 40 were killed and 119 injured in the blaze that broke out around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 25, 2026, at Le Constellation bar.
Police informed on Sunday, January 4, 2025, that teenagers as young as 14 were among those who died in the New Year’s Eve fire in Crans-Montana.
According to Reuters, the identified victim toll has risen to 24 and the investigation still continues.
The news came after hundreds marched in silence Sunday to honor the victims of the New Year’s Eve fire at a bar in the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana.
Somber mourners, many with teary eyes, filed silently out of the chapel to organ music after the hourlong Mass at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana before joining the silent march up the hill to Le Constellation bar.
As reported, Pope also offered his sympathies to the victims and their families.
National Day of Mourning announced for Swiss bar victims
Swiss president Guy Parmelin announced a National Day of Mourning for the victims on January 9, 2026.
“The world’s media are focused on our resort. We thank them for seeking the compassion that the families of the injured and deceased so desperately need,” said Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey of Sion during a service.
While identifying the victims, they expressed, “Many of the victims were apprentices, high school students, and university students,” said Pastor Gilles Cavin, representing the Reformed Church of Switzerland at the memorial mass.
During the Mass, the Rev. Gilles Cavin spoke of the “terrible uncertainty” for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive among the injured.
By Sunday morning, Swiss authorities had identified 24 out of the 40 fatalities.
The victims included 18 Swiss citizens aged 14 to 31 years, two 16-year-old Italians, one dual citizen of Italy and the United Arab Emirates who is also 16 years old, an 18-year-old Romanian, a 39-year-old French citizen, and an 18-year-old Turkish citizen.
France’s Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said 17 patients have received care in France, out of a total of 35 transferred from Switzerland to five European countries, whereas other patients were planned to be transferred to Germany, Italy, and Belgium.
Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims was particularly hard because of the advanced degree of the burns, requiring the use of DNA samples.
Bar managers faces criminal investigation
Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation of the bar managers.
Investigators said Friday they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.
Authorities planned to look into whether the sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar.
Officials said they also would look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.
