US EditionSwiss bar that killed 40 in New Year's fire had not been inspected for five years, officials say
Le Constellation bar’s fire safety inspections lapsed from 2020 to 2025, contributing to a blaze that killed 40 and injured 119 during New Year’s celebrations.
- On Tuesday, Swiss local authorities admitted they failed to conduct periodic fire and safety inspections for five years at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where an inferno killed 40 people and injured 116.
- Swiss investigators said sparkling candles on Champagne bottles ignited the ceiling, while non-compliance with evacuation routes and other safety rules worsened the fire.
- Victims' ages ranged from 14 to 39, with foreign nationals including Swiss, French, Italians, Serbs, Belgian, Bosnian, Luxembourg, Polish and Portuguese tourists in Crans-Montana.
- Swiss prosecutors opened criminal investigations into the bar managers and the French couple who own the bar, while authorities banned sparkler candles and declared a national day of mourning on Friday with bells at 2pm.
- Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud said `Periodic inspections were not conducted between 2020 and 2025. We bitterly regret this`, while local authorities face scrutiny as many foreign visitors were affected.
267 Articles
267 Articles
Mayor Reveals Site of Swiss Bar Fire That Killed 40, Including 3 Jewish Teens, Had No Safety Inspection for 5 Years
A woman looks at tributes placed outside the “Le Constellation” bar, after a deadly fire and explosion during a New Year’s Eve party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, Jan. 4, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas The bar that caught fire at a ski resort in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on New Year’s Eve, killing 40 people including three Jewish teens, had not been inspected by safety inspectors for the last five ye…
The owner of the "Le Constellation" bar, ravaged by the deadly fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana on New Year's Eve, is now in the spotlight because of its past...
Swiss officials admit bar inspection lapses
Swiss authorities admitted Tuesday that fire safety inspections had not been carried out for the past five years at a bar where 40 people died in a New Year blaze. The bar owners, who are facing negligent manslaughter charges, meanwhile said they were "overwhelmed with grief", and would not seek to "evade" their responsibilities. The inferno at Le Constellation in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana in Switzerland's southwestern Wallis region…
In front of the fire with 40 fatalities in the Swiss ski resort Crans-Montana, there have been no fire safety controls in the affected bar for many years. According to municipality president Feraud, there were no usual checks between 2020 and 2025.
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