Skip to main content
On Air Now

Sixteen more victims of Swiss ski resort fire identified, including three aged under 16

A Swiss girl, aged 14, was the youngest person identified.

Share

More victims from the Swiss bar fire have been identified.
More victims from the Swiss bar fire have been identified. Picture: Getty

By Jacob Paul

Up to 16 more victims of the bar fire at a Swiss ski resort have been identified by police, including three under the age of 16.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

A Swiss girl aged 14, was the youngest person identified.

Nine victims identified were aged under 18, police said.

Other nationalities among the group included Italian, Romanian, Turkish and French.

They include 16-year-old Italians and a 16-year-old with dual nationality - Italian and the United Arab Emirates.

It brings the total number of those idenfied as dead in the fire to 24, officials said in a statement.

Authorities confirmed the first four victims of the fire on Saturday afternoon, which included two 16-year-old Swiss teenagers.

Read more: Swiss bar manager under criminal investigation following New Year's Eve fire that left 40 dead

Read more: Faces of the missing: Families face 'agonising' wait as scores of youngsters still unaccounted for after Swiss ski resort fire

A vigil was held for the victims of the Crans-Montana bar fire on Saturday.
A vigil was held for the victims of the Crans-Montana bar fire on Saturday. Picture: Getty

The estimated number of total deaths in the fire is around 40, and around 119 are injured, most of who are in their teens and twenties with severe third-degree burns, police said.

The blaze, believed to have started by "flares" placed on top of champagne bottles held too close to the ceiling, spread across the venue in the early hours of New Year's Day.

Most of those injured are said to be in their teens and twenties with severe third-degree burns.
Most of those injured are said to be in their teens and twenties with severe third-degree burns. Picture: Handout

Two Swiss bar managers have been placed under criminal investigation following the disaster.

They are being investigated on suspicion of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and causing fire by negligence, Swiss authorities confirmed on Saturday.

French couple Jacques Moretti, 49, and his wife Jessica, 40, who were reportedly inside at the time and suffered burns to her arm, own the Le Constellation club, located in the Crans-Montana ski resort.

Mourners continued to visit the scene of the fire on Saturday, with many well-wishers leaving flowers and lighting candles in memory of those who died.

Authorities are invesigating the cause of the fire, with a focus on the champagne sparklers lit inside the bar, its ceiling foam, and the location and quality of emergency exits.