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Geneva — The French owners of the bar in Swiss ski resort that caught fire on New Year’s Eve will be questioned on Friday, sources close to the investigation said. French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti owned and operated the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, which was packed with young partygoers when the fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. on January 1.
Forty people, mostly teenagers, were killed and 116 were injured.
The two men, who face charges of negligent homicide, negligent battery and negligent arson, will be questioned by the prosecutor’s office in the neighboring town of Sion, a source close to the investigation told AFP on Thursday, on condition of anonymity.
Antonio Calanni / AP 
This will be the first time the couple will be questioned by investigators since the charges against them were established. announced Saturday.
The two men, who have not been arrested, said in a statement Tuesday that they were “devastated and grief-stricken” and pledged their “full cooperation” with investigators.
“We will in no way attempt to avoid these questions,” they said.
A number of questions have been raised about whether fire safety standards were met at the bar, where prosecutors believe the fire started when champagne bottles fitted with sparklers were lifted too close to the soundproofing foam on the bar’s basement ceiling.
On Tuesday, city officials acknowledged that no fire safety inspections had been conducted at Constellation since 2019.
Questions have also been raised about the couple’s background and their extensive real estate holdings.
The French newspaper Le Parisien reported it at the start of the week that Jacques Moretti was known to authorities and had served a prison sentence about 20 years ago in the south of France for charges related to prostitution and kidnapping.
Sebastien Fanti, a lawyer representing four families of the injured, welcomed the news that the Morettis would be questioned in the case, telling AFP he hoped it signaled “a welcome resurgence of the investigation.”
The interrogations will focus on the couple’s personal situation, according to another source close to the case.
“Establishing the personal situation of the defendants, particularly on the economic level, is essential,” Romain Jordan, a lawyer representing several families, told AFP.
Once the investigation is completed, the public prosecutor’s office in the Valais region will determine whether to indict the two men or to dismiss the case.
