Investigators Probe Sparkling Candles as Possible Cause of Deadly Swiss Ski Resort Fire

Investigators said Friday they believe sparkling candles placed atop Champagne bottles may have ignited a devastating fire at a Swiss ski resort after sparks reached the ceiling of a crowded bar packed with New Year’s Eve revelers.

Authorities are examining whether sound-dampening material used on the ceiling of the Le Constellation bar complied with safety regulations and whether the sparkler-style candles — which emit a stream of upward-shooting sparks — were permitted for indoor use. Officials are also reviewing other safety measures, including fire extinguishers and escape routes. The Valais region’s attorney general warned that prosecutions could follow if criminal liability is established.

At least 40 people were killed and 119 injured when the blaze tore through the bar in the resort town of Crans-Montana early Thursday, making it one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Among those still unaccounted for was Arthur Brodard, a 16-year-old from Lausanne. His mother, Laetitia, travelled to Crans-Montana on Friday, clinging to “a glimmer of hope” that her son might be among six injured people yet to be identified. “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” she said. “I want to know where my child is and be by his side, whether that’s in intensive care or the morgue.”

According to Valais police commander Frédéric Gisler, the injured include 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French citizens and 11 Italians, as well as people from Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland. The nationalities of 14 victims remain unclear.

Celebration Turns to Chaos

Survivors described scenes of panic as the fire spread rapidly. Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris, said he felt as if he was suffocating inside the alpine bar. He escaped by forcing open a window with a table, but one of his friends was killed and several others remained missing hours later.

An impromptu memorial of candles and flowers formed near the bar, while hundreds gathered to pray at the nearby Church of Montana-Station.

At a hospital in Sion, a French teenager arrived with tulips for her badly burned 17-year-old best friend, only to learn she was heavily sedated and unable to receive visitors. The girl said she had planned to join a dozen schoolmates at the bar but decided against it at the last minute. She later learned two of the group were hospitalised in Zurich, and she did not know the fate of the others.

Social media filled with appeals for information about missing loved ones, as families and friends shared photographs and pleaded for updates.

Witnesses Describe Sparklers and Flames

Several witnesses said servers entered the bar carrying Champagne bottles topped with burning sparklers shortly before the fire broke out. Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they saw a bartender lift a colleague onto his shoulders as she held a lit candle, after which flames spread and the wooden ceiling collapsed.

Others described a desperate rush toward a narrow stairway and exit, with people smashing windows to escape. Parents reportedly rushed to the scene in cars, fearing their children were trapped inside.

Gianni Campolo, a 19-year-old Swiss vacationer, said he ran to the bar to help after receiving a call from a friend who escaped. “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” he told TF1. Another rescuer, 14-year-old Marc-Antoine Chavanon, said people were collapsing around him. “We were doing everything we could to save them,” he said.

The severity of the burns has complicated the identification of victims, forcing authorities to rely on DNA samples. In many cases, wallets and identification documents were destroyed in the flames.

Italian officials confirmed that teenage golfer Emanuele Galeppini, who competed internationally, was listed as missing, though the Italian Golf Federation announced his death pending DNA confirmation.

Crans-Montana, nestled amid the snowy peaks and pine forests of the Valais region, is a major international ski destination and host to elite alpine competitions. The tragedy has cast a long shadow over what should have been a night of celebration.