In brief
The mayor of Crans-Montana revealed that the Le Constellation bar had not undergone safety inspections for five years prior to a tragic fire that resulted in 40 deaths and 116 injuries on New Year's Day. The fireworks, believed to have ignited the blaze, could lead to stricter fire regulations and the investigation of local authorities. Following the incident, an external contractor will now inspect all local venues to enhance safety protocols.
The Swiss bar that was the scene of a fire which killed 40 people and injured 116 had not undergone safety checks for five years, authorities have said.
The mayor of Crans-Montana, Nicolas Feraud, told a Tuesday news conference that he could not explain why Le Constellation bar had not been checked in so long, but that the council was 'profoundly sorry'. The venues should have been checked annually.
'We regret that - we owe it to the families and we will accept the responsibility,' he said.
He added that sparklers - which are believed to have caused the fire when they were raised too close to the ceiling - will be banned in local venues.
Local authorities will now bring in an external contractor to inspect and audit all 128 venues in the area.
Feraud conceded there was a team of five people inspecting more than 10,000 buildings in Crans-Montana and could not explain why the bar had not been inspected since 2019.
Taking repeated questions on why the bar had not been checked in so long, Feraud said: 'I have no answer for you today.'
'We're profoundly sorry about that and I know how hard that will be for the families.'
'I'm not resigning, no, and I don't want to,' he later added.
Feraud said it would be 'down to the judges' to decide whether members of the local authority would be included in a criminal investigation that has been opened by Swiss prosecutors.
When the fire occurred on New Year's Day, the bar seemed to have many more people in it than legally permitted, which Feraud said was the responsibility of the managers of Le Constellation to regulate.
Feraud said the maximum capacity was 200 people, with emergency exits designed to cater for 100 people on each side of its two levels. However, he did not know if the exit on the basement level was working.
Swiss prosecutors have placed the two bar managers, named as Jacques and Jessica Moretti, under criminal investigation. They are suspected of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
Prosecutors have stated that the fire started when people celebrating the New Year raised champagne bottles with sparklers attached, igniting sound-insulating foam on the ceiling of the basement bar.
Feraud stated that allowing sparklers in the venue was extremely negligent, noting that sound-proofing material on the ceiling contributed to the disaster. Investigators will assess several elements, including compliance with emergency exit standards.
With power distributed among three levels of the Swiss political system, failures in adhering to fire safety regulations may show potential faults in the local authority's responsibilities.
