“It was apocalyptic,” says a woman during the Crans-Montana memorial ceremony, while the bar owner is arrested

The tragedy brought together the inhabitants of Crans-Montana and paralyzed the country.

On Friday, right next to the bar where 40 young people were killed by a fire on New Year’s Eve, church bells rang in their memory.

They rang throughout Switzerland to mark a day of national mourning.

Then, moments after the final notes of a special memorial service had faded, news arrived that one of the bar’s owners had been arrested.

Swiss prosecutors said Jacques Moretti, a French national, posed a potential flight risk. He and his wife Jessica, also French, are suspected of manslaughter by negligence, negligent bodily injury and negligent arson.

Many victims’ families demanded such action from the start: more than a week after the fire, anger in this community increased.

At the main ceremony in Martigny, in the valley, relatives of the dead were joined by survivors. Some had come from the hospital for the memorial. People held white roses on their knees and held hands for support.

“The images we were confronted with were unbearable. A scene worse than a nightmare. Screams echoing in the freezing cold, a burning smell. It was apocalyptic,” a young woman named Marie told the audience.

She was at a bar across the street from Constellation when the fire broke out and suddenly found herself helping the injured as they fled the flames.

She said she would never forget what she saw.

Listening in the front row were the presidents of France and Italy, whose citizens were among those killed and injured in the fire. Both countries have opened their own investigations.

Back in Rome, the Italian Prime Minister pledged to ensure that all those responsible are identified.

“It’s not a coincidence. It’s the result of too many people not doing their job,” Giorgia Meloni said.

She wants to know why the music wasn’t turned off as soon as the fire started.

“Why didn’t anyone tell the young people to go out? Why didn’t the municipality carry out the appropriate checks? There are too many whys.”

In Crans-Montana, people ask themselves the same questions and many more.

For now, the only two official suspects are Constellation co-owners Jacques and Jessica Moretti. On Friday morning, the two men were summoned by prosecutors. They are being investigated for negligently causing death and injury, but have not been charged.

Jacques Moretti is now placed in pre-trial detention. In a statement, the public prosecutor’s office said the decision followed a “new assessment of the risk of flight”.

“I constantly think about the victims and the people who are struggling,” his wife told television cameras after several hours of interrogation at the ministry.

It was his first public comment since the fire.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy. This happened at our establishment and I want to apologize.”

Nine days later, The Constellation is still hidden behind white plastic sheeting. A lone policeman stands guard, his face covered by the incessant snow.

What happened inside the building’s basement gradually became clearer: it is the story of a disaster that should never have happened.

Mobile phone footage shows a sparkler attached to a bottle of champagne, apparently lighting the fire as it skims the ceiling. Covered with sound-absorbing foam whose safety has never been tested, it ignites quickly.

When the crowd finally rushes towards the exit in panic, there is a crush on the stairs. It appears that the emergency doors were blocked.

But another video, from six years ago, suggests the risk was well known. In the footage, a waiter can be heard warning that the ceiling material is flammable.

“Be careful of the foam,” the voice shouts, while people brandish the same sparklers.

But the questions here aren’t just for homeowners.

This week, the municipal authorities of Crans made a shocking admission: they had not carried out mandatory bar safety checks for five years.

They offered no explanation.

“It was hell inside that bar. It was over 1,000 degrees. There was no way to escape,” Italian Ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado told the BBC, citing a long list of safety violations.

Six Italians were killed.

“Italy wants justice, the Italian government wants justice and the Italian people want justice, of course. The families want justice,” the ambassador stressed.

This includes those who suffer life-changing injuries.

The Sion regional hospital welcomed the first significant influx of patients. The stress was compounded by the fact that many doctors’ children were partying in Crans for the New Year.

“They were all afraid that the next stretcher to arrive would carry their own child,” recalls hospital director Eric Bonvin.

But he’s proud of how his team came out.

Some victims were unconscious and so badly burned that it took time to identify them.

The most serious cases have been transferred to specialized burn centers elsewhere in Switzerland and Europe, where some remain in critical condition.

All face a long and difficult road to recovery, which the doctor likens to a “rebirth” because many of his young patients suffer severe facial burns.

“We must first protect the body, like the fetus in its mother’s womb. This is what is happening for many now. Then, they will have to reintegrate the world and find their identity,” explains Professor Bonvin.

“It will take a lot of work and resilience.”

Add to that the anxiety of surviving.

“They came and at first they felt lucky to be alive. But now some feel this guilt, wondering why they are here, but not their friend or their brother,” says Bonvin.

“It’s a delicate moment.”

In the center of Crans, the pile of tributes to the dead grows even larger, protected from bad weather by a canvas.

After placing their own fresh flowers on Friday, many people stood for a moment in front of the ruins of the bar itself. To remember, in silence.