Swiss Ski Resort Blaze Survivors Are Treated in Specialist Clinics Throughout the Continent

Survivors of the catastrophic nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while authorities report many of the dead were so badly burned that identification could take an extended period.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were killed and 115 hurt when the inferno ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and underground club.

“Our primary goal is to put names to all the victims,” stated Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, completely interrupted or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Families of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and foreign embassies worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental charts and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, according to news agencies.

Many more of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are unaccounted for and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “taken aback” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet.

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been named. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and additional individuals remained unaccounted for. Australia has said a citizen was injured.

Families in Anguish

Relatives and friends have been working desperately to find their loved ones, using online platforms to share images of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend narrowly missed being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was really in shock,” Martins said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and moved to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be protracted and demanding, lasting many weeks or even months.”