Update: All victims of Crans-Montana ski resort fire identified

All victims of the fire at a ski resort in Crans-Montana, in Switzerland’s Valais canton, have now been identified.

The fire, which occurred at a New Year’s Eve celebration, claimed the lives of 40 people and injured 116 more.

Those who died include a range of nationalities, including Swiss, Italian, Romanian, Turkish, Portuguese, French, Belgian, British, and Israeli. This includes 15 people aged under 18 – the youngest victims were a Swiss girl and a French boy, both aged 14 years old.

Swiss air rescue service Rega has stated that it has been “continuously operating” in the wake of the disaster, transporting patients to healthcare facilities across Switzerland and beyond, due to limited capacity in the canton itself.

Sound-proofing and sparklers identified as likely cause

The fire is believed to have started when sparklers were held too close to the ceiling, which was covered in foam sound-proofing panels.

Investigators found that the Constellation bar, where the fire happened, had not had any safety inspections, checks, and audits for five years – despite standard policy in Valais being for officials to review venues for fire risks each year.

Additionally, the venue, originally built in 1977, was significantly expanded in 2015 to include an outdoor, covered terrace. Once the work was completed, inspectors reportedly focused on the outside area, not what had changed inside.

In response to the disaster, Nicolas Feraud, the Mayor of Crans-Montana, said that officials would now conduct a full audit of all venues in the region, and that all kinds of sparklers were now banned in such venues.