Dozens dead after explosion in Swiss ski resort bar, police say

Dozens of people are believed to have been killed and around 100 injured after an explosion ripped through a crowded bar during a New Year’s Eve party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, Swiss police said Thursday.

Swiss police estimate that around 40 people died, according to a press release from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The victims could not be immediately identified due to the severity of their burns.

Police earlier said many people were being treated for burns. Most of the injured are in serious condition, said Mathias Reynard, head of the cantonal government. The intensive care unit at the Valais hospital was full and patients were being transferred elsewhere, he said.

Some of the victims come from other countries, said Stéphane Ganzer, head of security for the canton of Valais. Authorities said 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances had been mobilized.

The fire broke out at 1:30 a.m. local time at a bar called Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, where police, firefighters and emergency services were deployed to help victims.

More than 100 people were in the bar at the time of the explosion, a police spokesperson said.

The area was completely cordoned off and a no-fly zone was imposed over Crans-Montana, police said in a statement, adding that the cause of the explosion remained unclear.

The explosion was considered a fire and not an attack, prosecutor Béatrice Pilloud said. The Italian Foreign Ministry later said the fire was not believed to be caused by arson.

Pilloud also said authorities were trying to release the victims’ bodies to their families.

The community is located in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometers north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometers south of Zurich.