Switzerland Crans-Montana Bar Fire: A devastating fire erupted during a New Year’s celebration at La Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, leading to chaos as partygoers attempted to flee the flames.
Panicked partygoers smashed windows and scrambled through smoke and flames to escape a deadly fire at a New Year’s celebration in a bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland’s luxury ski resort. Swiss authorities fear dozens are dead and more than 100 people were injured.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes, with screaming crowds and parents rushing to the bar, desperate to find their children. One witness told French broadcaster BFMTV that people were breaking windows to flee, some seriously injured, while parents arrived in cars trying to ensure their children were safe. Watching from across the street, he saw around 20 people escape through smoke and flames, calling the scene “like a horror movie.”
‘Ceiling Caught Fire’
Two French women, Emma and Albane, who were inside the basement-level La Constellation bar when the fire broke out shortly after midnight, told BFMTV that panic erupted almost instantly.
“It was absolute panic, everyone was screaming,” they said, describing how the crowd became uncontrollable as the flames spread. “One of the candles was brought too close to the ceiling, which caught fire. Within seconds, the entire ceiling was ablaze. Everything was made of wood,” one of the women added.
They said the party was in the basement when the fire rapidly spread to the upper level of the venue.
‘We had flames just a meter away’
The women said the main exit was far too small for the crowd, forcing some to take desperate measures to escape.
“The exit door was quite small compared to the number of people present. Someone broke a window so people could get out,” one of them told BFMTV.
They said firefighters and police arrived “within minutes,” but the flames were already dangerously close. “We had flames just a meter away; if we hadn’t run, we would surely have been injured,” one added.