More than 100 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
14:49, Sat, Jan 3, 2026 Updated: 15:08, Sat, Jan 3, 2026
Police officers stand guard near the bar Le Constellation where a fire ripped through the venue duri (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Swiss authorities have begun investigating the managers of the bar that saw more than 40 people die after a deadly fire ripped apart the bar during its New Year’s Eve celebrations. Local police have said the two owners are suspected of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and causing fire by negligence after more than 115 people were left injured from the blaze.
The most recent figures suggest 47 people died after the fire broke out, only an hour after the New Year was chimed in at Le Constellation bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana. Investigators are continuing to search for victims, with family and friends unable to locate their loved ones after the blaze.
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The remnants of Le Constellation bar (Image: Tim Merry - REACH plc)
The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but officials and eyewitnesses have suggested that the flames spread as sparklers in champagne bottles came into contact with the ceiling.
Officials have said the investigation into the owners will look at the sound-dampening on the bar's ceiling and whether candles and sparklers were allowed to be used in the bar.
Investigators will also look into whether the bar was confirmed with other safety measures, such as having proper fire extinguishers and adequate escape routes.
Stéphane Ganzer, the region's top security official, told SRF radio: “Such a huge accident with a fire in Switzerland means that something didn’t work, maybe the material, maybe the organisation on the spot.”
He added: “Something didn’t work and someone made a mistake, I am sure of that.”
Nicolas Féraud, who heads the Crans-Montana municipality, told RTS radio he was “convinced” checks on the bar hadn’t been lax.
Several patients remain in hospital in Switzerland, some as young as 15, according to a doctor at Geneva University Hospital, being treated for third-degree burns.
In a statement after the fire, Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin called it "one of the worst tragedies" experienced by the country.
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