Parents of waitress blamed for starting Swiss bar fire slam club's owners for dodging fine rather than hiring doorman
The parents of a waitress who was blamed for starting the Swiss bar fire, which killed 40 people, have accused the venue's owners of cost-cutting instead of hiring a security doorman.
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Cyane Panine was among the victims who died after the flames tore through Le Constellation, in the ski resort of Crans Montana, on New Year's Eve.
Ms Panine's parents Astrid and Jerôme claim an emergency exit had been closed off to prevent those inside from sneaking in without paying a €1,000 table charge - instead of employing a bouncer.
Astrid said the decision made by the bar's owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, was down to budgeting and may have cost lives.
Astrid told broadcaster France 3 Occitanie: "Jacques had closed the emergency exit because he was afraid people would come in without paying.
"The tables cost 1,000 euros. And if you can't even put a guard at that door. If the door had been open, maybe there wouldn't have been any deaths."
The couple said that Cyane was carried unconscious to a bar across the street after the fire, with footage emerging showing the flames spreading across the ceiling.
Astrid added: "She was unconscious, but still alive. They tried to resuscitate her for forty minutes. To no avail."
Investigators previously established that 34 of those who died in the fire were trapped after the cramped staircase collapsed.
The staircase, leading up to the door from the basement bar, fell apart as people rushed to escape.
The stairwell had been narrowed by two-thirds by the owner after renovations, the investigation found.
One of those emergency exits, which would have provided a potential escape route, was reportedly located within the basement.
Ms Panine is said to have accidentally started the fire after she was seen carrying sparklers moments before the blaze erupted.
Footage from the night showed a young woman sitting on one of her colleagues’ shoulders, brandishing two champagne bottles with sparklers attached.
Her parents say she had been "encouraged" by Ms Moretti to get the "atmosphere going."
The pyrotechnics are thought to have then lit the soundproofing foam in the ceiling, triggering the blaze, which also injured 116 others.
Mr Moretti faces a range of charges, including manslaughter by negligence and is currently in police custody.
His wife is also under investigation.