Hero dad 'saved ten youngsters' as fire raged through Swiss ski resort after panicked call from daughter
An Italian dad has been hailed as a hero after helping save multiple youngsters from the fire that killed at least 40 people at a Swiss ski resort during New Year’s Eve celebrations.
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Paolo Campolo, 55, raced to Le Constellation, Crans-Montana. after receiving a call from his terrified daughter to say her boyfriend and friends were stuck inside the bar as a fire raged through it in the early hours of New Year's Day.
The main entrance was blocked up by people rushing to escape the flames when he arrived, but the Swiss-Italian financial analyst managed to identify a door off to the side and force it open with the help of another man.
Panicked partiers were able to run through the door he prised open as the building filled with flames and smoke.
His actions saved the lives of at least ten youngsters, reports claim.
Footage shared online seemingly shows a man forcing open a door to the right of the main entrance and a visibly distressed young woman immediately breaking out.
However, it’s not clear whether this is Mr Campolo.
Speaking from his hospital bed, he told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero: ”There were several bodies all around. Alive but burnt. Some conscious, others not.
“They were begging for help in several languages. They were very young.
“I didn't think about the pain, the smoke, the danger.
“I pulled kids out with my bare hands. One after the other. They were alive but injured, many of them seriously,” Mr Campolo said.
Mr Campolo is now in hospital in Sion, Switzerland, being treated for smoke inhalation.
His daughter escaped unscathed, but her boyfriend is critically ill in a Basel hospital.
At least 40 people have been confrimed dead and around 119 are injured following the blaze, most of who are in their teens and twenties with severe third-degree burns, police said.
When asked what his clearest memory is from the traumatic night, Mr Campolo replied: “The looks. The lucid desperation of those who know they're dying.
“Burned people looking at you and asking you not to leave them there. It's something that never goes away.”
The blaze is believed to have been started by "flares" placed on top of champagne bottles held too close to the ceiling.
One witness named Julie, who was inside the bar celebrating the new year, said: "Everyone was having fun and then I saw someone put a lit sparkler or a firework, like a candle in a champagne bottle, on a high table.
"The sparks flew up to the ceiling and the whole thing ignited. In a few seconds, the entire ceiling was on fire."
She added: "I saw a young guy writhing in agony on the floor. His body was badly burnt, his hair too, and half of his face was gone. It was like a horror film. I can’t see how he would have survived. I think he must have died."
Police commander Frédéric Gisler said all apart from six of the 119 injured have been formally identified, but Swiss officials are yet to share the names of any victims or injured.
Among the injured included 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, as well as citizens from Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland.
The nationalities of 14 people were still unclear.
One of the missing, teenager Charlotte Niddam, previously studied at the Immanuel College private school in Hertfordshire.
Charlotte previously attended the Jewish school before moving back to France with her family.
The first victim to be publicly identified on Friday was rising golf star 17-year-old Emanuele Galeppini from Italy.