What we know about the Swiss ski resort fire

Dozens of people are believed to have died and more than 100 injured following a fire at a ski resort in southern Switzerland, officials said.

Police said multiple nationalities were likely involved in the New Year’s Eve fire, which occurred at 1:30 a.m. local time (00:30 GMT) at a bar called Le Constellation in the seaside resort of Crans-Montana.

It is being treated as a fire and there is “no question” of an attack, said the region’s attorney general.

A helpline has been set up for affected families: +41 848 112 117

Here’s what we know so far.

At a news conference Thursday morning, police said “several dozen” people were believed to have died in the fire, although it was too early to give a precise number.

The Italian Foreign Ministry, citing Swiss police, said it estimated around 40 people had died.

Around a hundred people were injured, most of them seriously burned, Swiss authorities said. Most were transported to Valais hospital where the intensive care unit is now full, according to local authorities. A burns unit has been made available in Milan, in neighboring Italy.

Ten helicopters, 40 ambulances and 150 rescue workers were sent to the scene.

Work is underway to identify the victims and return the bodies to the families as quickly as possible, said the region’s attorney general, Béatrice Pilloud.

The Italian ambassador to Switzerland says it could take weeks to identify the dead. Earlier, Italy’s foreign minister said identification would be difficult due to the severe burns.

People from several countries are believed to be involved and French media reported that at least two of the injured were French nationals.

French President Emmanuel Macron offered France’s “full solidarity and our fraternal support” to Switzerland.

The UK embassy in Switzerland says it is monitoring the situation but has not been contacted for help.

Consular staff are ready to support affected British nationals, a Foreign Office statement said.

The cause is currently unknown but Ms. Pilloud said that for the moment it was a fire and “at no time is there any question of any attack.”

Asked about previous reports of an explosion, the regional security manager, Stéphane Ganzer, declared that “it is not the detonation of an explosive device which causes the fire, it is the fire which, as it develops, causes an explosion and a widespread fire of the premises”.

Two French nationals who said they were at the bar at the time described seeing a waitress place a birthday candle on a bottle of champagne.

“One of the candles was placed too close to the ceiling and it caught fire. Within seconds, the entire ceiling was on fire. It was all made of wood.” Emma and Albane told French media BFMTV.

They described the evacuation as “very difficult” as the escape route was “narrow” and the stairs to exit “even narrower”.

Regional police commander Frederic Gisler said smoke was first seen coming from a bar around 1:30 a.m. local time and emergency services were then called.

The first police officers arrived quickly on the scene, followed by a large deployment of rescue teams, Gisler said.

Constellation is a large bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana that has been around for many years.

Although the resort itself was quite upscale, Le Constellation was not particularly chic, the BBC’s Silvia Costeloe reported from the station.

Upstairs there is an area with television screens where people go to watch football matches. Downstairs is a large bar where people were probably drinking and dancing.

It could accommodate up to 300 people and had a small terrace, although it is not known how many people were there at the time of the fire.

The Christmas and New Year holidays are one of the busiest times of year for alpine ski resorts, and it’s likely the bar was full of Swiss and tourists celebrating the start of 2026.