Police identify first four victims of Swiss ski resort fire

Police have identified the first four bodies of those killed in a fire at a Swiss ski resort bar on New Year’s Eve.

The bodies of two Swiss women aged 21 and 16 and two Swiss men aged 18 and 16 were returned to their families, police said.

The identifications were possible thanks to “in-depth” work by the police and the Institute of Legal Medicine, the Valais cantonal police said in a press release. Work to identify the other victims continues.

The Constellation fire in Crans-Montana killed 40 people and injured 119 others, authorities said. With many injured having been identified, families are now faced with an agonizing wait for information on those still missing.

The probable cause of the fire were the sparklers from the champagne bottles carried too close to the ceilinga preliminary investigation into how the fire started has revealed.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin called it “one of the worst tragedies” experienced by the country.

Further details about the identified victims, including their names, have not been released.

On Friday, police said 113 of the injured had been identified, including 71 Swiss, 14 French and 11 Italians.

Among the dead and missing are many teenagers. Constellation was a venue known to be popular with a younger crowd in the ski resort, where the minimum drinking age is 16.

A teenage Italian golfer was the first death to be identified, although Swiss and Italian authorities have so far refused to confirm his death.

Bouquets of flowers, stuffed animals and messages of love and hope pile up in front of the police barriers outside the bar.

On Saturday, families were directed to a conference center just outside Crans. Members of the Italian civil protection met people there, including the Italian ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado.

Ambassador Cornado said the identification process continued on Saturday and was expected to be completed by Sunday afternoon.

The slowness of the process is due to the severity of the burns suffered by many victims, the ambassador added.

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