Owner of Swiss bar where 40 people were killed in deadly New Year's Eve fire arrested

Jacques ‌Moretti, co-owner of Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, has ⁠been detained due to a ​potential risk ​of flight, according to Swiss newspaper ‍24 Heures.

Today, Moretti and his wife and fellow co-owner Jessica attended a hearing at the Office of the public prosecutor of the Canton of Valais in Sion on January 9.

The French couple, face charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

It recently emerged the bar in the Alpine ski resort had not undergone safety checks for five years.

The fire, believed to have been started by "flares" placed on top of champagne bottles held too close to the ceiling, spread across the venue in the early hours of January 1.

The blaze began at around 1.30am local time while guests - mainly teenagers and young people - were celebrating the start of 2026.

The fire spread quickly, prompting people to storm a staircase towards an exit. Witnesses also reported people screaming, climbing over each other and smashing windows in desperate bid to escape the crowded bar.

Read more: Swiss bar had not been inspected for five years prior to fire that killed 40

Read more: Emergency exit in Swiss ski resort venue 'was always locked,' bartender claims amid investigation into deadly fire

Today, Switzerland has held a national day of mourning for the 40 victims.

The day was marked by a memorial service and a minute's silence, while church bells across Switzerland rang for five minutes, beginning at 2pm.

Hundreds of mourners - including French President Emmanuel Macron, the Swiss Federal President Guy Parmelin and Italy's President Sergio Mattarella - gathered in the ski resort town to attend the memorial and pay respects.

Parmelin previously described the fire as "one of the worst tragedies our country has ever experienced".

The first funerals for some of the victims killed in the blaze have begun this week as mourners gathered in Milan, Rome and Bologna, to bury the dead.

The Rome prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the blaze, alleging manslaughter and arson, Italian media reported on Thursday.

'Regret this bitterly'

Regional authorities have said that safety inspections were the responsibility of the municipality.

On Tuesday, the head of Crans-Montana's municipal government, Nicolas Feraud, said there had been inspections of Le Constellation up to 2019.

But he told a news conference the local council discovered after consulting documents after the fire that "periodic checks were not carried out between 2020 and 2025".

"We regret this bitterly," he said, adding that it will be up to judicial authorities to determine what influence that may have had on the chain of events that led to the fire.

Mr Feraud said he could not immediately explain why safety inspections had not been conducted for such a long time.

He said that, in September last year, an external expert had been asked to carry out a soundproofing analysis and had concluded that the bar complied with anti-noise rules, without making further remarks.

"What happened is not a disaster: It's the result of too many people who didn't do their job or who thought they were making easy money," Italian premier Giorgia Meloni said during a press conference on Friday.

"Those responsible must be identified and prosecuted."

Ms Meloni said the State Attorney General's Office has contacted the Swiss Attorney General to follow the investigation and confirmed that the Rome Prosecutor's Office has started a separate probe.

"The families have my word that they will not be left alone while they seek justice," she added.

The Paris prosecutor's office on Monday announced that it was opening a probe to assist the Swiss investigation and make it easier for families of French victims to communicate with Swiss investigators.

Nine French citizens were killed, the youngest of them aged 14, and 23 others were injured.