Switzerland faces the painful task of identifying resort fire victims: first fatality identified
Kyiv • UNN
In Switzerland, investigators are identifying charred bodies after a bar fire that killed about 40 people at a New Year's Eve party. Among the first identified is a 16-year-old Italian golfer.
In Switzerland, investigators on Friday began the painful task of identifying the charred bodies from a fire that engulfed a crowded bar and claimed the lives of about 40 people at a New Year's Eve party at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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Emanuele Galeppini, a 16-year-old international-level Italian golfer who lived in Dubai, was named on Friday as the first of several possible Italian victims to be identified.
The burns sustained by the mostly young crowd of tourists at Le Constellation bar were so severe that Swiss officials said it could take several days before they have the names of all the victims of the fire, which also injured more than 100 people, many seriously, the publication writes.
Parents of missing children appealed for information about their loved ones, as foreign embassies tried to find out if their citizens were among those affected in one of the worst tragedies to hit modern Switzerland.
"I've been looking for my son for 30 hours. The wait is unbearable," said Letizia, the mother of 16-year-old Arthur, who went missing, to BFM TV, adding that she desperately wants to know if he is alive or dead, and exactly where.
"If he's in a hospital, I don't know which one. If he's in a morgue, I don't know which morgue. If my son is alive, he's alone in the hospital, and I can't be with him," she said.
Authorities warned that it would take time to establish the names of the victims or the final death toll, as many bodies were severely burned.
"All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and confidential that nothing can be communicated to families unless we are 100 percent sure," said Matthias Reynard, head of the Valais cantonal government. He said experts were using dental and DNA samples to identify the victims.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. Swiss authorities said it was likely an accident, not an attack.
Some reports from survivors and videos broadcast on social media suggest that the ceiling of the bar's basement may have caught fire when candles got too close.
Visitors and residents of Crans-Montana, which is famous not only as a popular destination for skiers but also for golfers, were shocked by the fire. Many knew the victims, and some said they were lucky not to have been there themselves.
Dozens of people left flowers or lit candles at a makeshift altar at the beginning of the road leading to the bar, which was cordoned off by police. Some cried, others quietly hugged.
"It could have been us," said Emma, an 18-year-old girl from Geneva, near the cordoned-off bar.
"There was a huge queue, so we decided not to go in (to that bar on New Year's Eve). We were so lucky we didn't. Even if we are alive and well, we are still in shock. It's a trauma even for us. I see the missing, and they are all people our age," she noted.
Beyond the police cordon, the bodies of some victims were still in the bar, police said, promising to work around the clock to identify everyone who died in the fire, the publication writes.
Italy and France are among the countries that have reported some of their citizens missing, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will visit Crans-Montana on Friday, said Italian Ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado.
Australia also reported that one of its citizens was injured. Swiss officials reported about 40 deaths, but Italy, based on information from Swiss authorities, estimated the death toll at 47.
According to Cornado, all but five of the 112 injured have already been identified. Six Italians are still considered missing, and 13 have been hospitalized, he added. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday, and three more will be repatriated on Friday, he said.