Memorial for Crans-Montana fire victims goes up in flames: Swiss police

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland – A memorial for the victims of

a deadly New Year’s fire in Switzerland

itself caught fire early on Feb 8, likely sparked by candles left burning inside, police said.

The tribute was a makeshift one to the

41 people killed

and the 115 injured in the Jan 1 fire that erupted at the Le Constellation bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, which had been packed with mainly teenagers and young adults.

The memorial, laden with flowers, candles and messages of condolences, was set up near the site of the tragedy.

It caught alight shortly before 6am on Feb 8, regional police in Switzerland’s south-western canton of Wallis said in a statement.

Images broadcast by Swiss public broadcaster RTS showed the blackened top of a white igloo-like tarpaulin erected over the memorial to protect it from the weather, visible behind a white screen and police tape.

“Thanks to the rapid intervention of the emergency services, the fire was quickly brought under control,” police said.

No one was injured in the fire at the memorial, they said, adding, however, that “several commemorative objects were damaged by the flames”.

A large book of remembrance, filled with messages of condolences left by visitors over the past five weeks, was saved, the statement said.

Police said an investigation had been opened into the cause of the blaze at the memorial, which had originally been placed directly in front of the burnt-out bar but was recently moved slightly farther away.

“According to initial reports, the fire started near the candles placed on a table in the centre of the memorial,” the statement said. “At this stage, third-party involvement can be ruled out.”

Investigators believe the New Year inferno at Le Constellation bar started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to the ceiling in the crowded bar, igniting sound insulation foam.

The French couple who co-owned the bar, Jacques and Jessica Moretti,

are facing charges

of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

Crans-Montana’s head of public safety and a former fire safety officer are also under criminal investigation in connection with the blaze, as the bar

had not undergone mandatory annual fire inspections since 2019

.

Following weeks of harsh criticism of the local and regional authorities’ handling of the crisis and the investigation, family members on Feb 8 voiced consternation upon learning of the fire at the memorial.

“What to say?” Ms Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, whose 16-year-old son Arthur Brodard was among those who perished at Le Constellation, wrote on Facebook alongside a link to a report about the memorial fire.

“It is the municipality’s responsibility to ensure a memorial that is secure.” AFP