Following a fire at a Swiss ski resort, hundreds of people attend a heartbreaking vigil while parents frantically search for their children.
Distraught families are desperately searching for their children who are still missing after a deadly fire at a Swiss ski resort nightclub.
Authorities have confirmed that teenagers were among 47 dead and 115 injured after a massive fire broke out at a packed tourist bar in Crans-Montana. Wallis,
It is believed that more than 200 young people celebrating the New Year had gathered at Le Constellation, a luxury bar at the popular ski resort, when the “flashover” fire broke out.
Hundreds of people escaped by climbing narrow stairs, while others broke windows along with furniture to escape and suffered severe burns in the process.
The fire scorched the venue.
Terrified people were “screaming and running” for their lives on New Year’s Eve. The fire scorched the venue, burning alive many people trapped inside.
The survivors, aged as young as 15, have been airlifted to hospitals in Switzerland and abroad, including in France, Germany and Belgium.
Wallace Hospital activated its disaster plan, admitting 60 injured, many of whom had third-degree burns.
A helpline has been set up for the victims and their families to manage the flow of information.
The mother of 16-year-old Giovanni Tamburri, from Bologna, is one of many parents who are appealing for information about her son’s well-being.
“We are calling all the hospitals, but no one knows anything, especially when the patients are in terrible condition,” he told La Repubblica.
Amid the chaos of the horrific tragedy, friends and relatives have taken to social media to get answers about what happened to their loved ones.
One Facebook post read: “My 15-year-old sister is missing. We have not heard from her since the bar fire in Crans-Montana.”
Another wrote about a loved one: “If you saw him after 1.30am or know where he has been taken, please contact me. Three of his friends are also missing.”
A European official said experts were using dental and DNA records to identify the deceased, but identification was being delayed due to the severity of the burns.
Eight French citizens and six Italians are missing and foreign governments are reportedly calling around to find out if their citizens are among the dead.
The first injured teenager to be identified is FC Metz youth footballer Tahiris dos Santos.
According to the football club, the 19-year-old player sustained “severe burns” and is currently receiving treatment in Germany.
It came as around 400 people came together to offer condolences to the victims of the massive fire on Thursday evening.
A church service was held in Crans-Montana to honour the victims, and later on a snowy night hundreds of people gathered quietly near the site of the tragedy to lay flowers and light candles.
Many of those who stood motionless watching the scene of the tragedy knew people who were unaccounted for or badly injured.
People spoke in whispers, if at all. The only sound was the hum of the generator near the makeshift white tent set up outside the bar.
“I wasn’t there myself, but I had many friends and relatives,” said a young mourner, who gave his surname as Orostevik.
“Some died; others are in hospital. He informed AFP that the number of deceased individuals was approximately 10.
“They’re mostly my parents’ friends, but I know them very well.”
Orostevik said he had bought flowers to give “as a small tribute.”.
Nearby, some groups of friends were hugging and crying, distraught.
The father placed a guiding hand around the young sons. The youth hugged their friends as soon as they saw them. People cried, hugged and held hands.
“My son could have been there. It wasn’t far away,” Paulo Martins, a French citizen who has lived in the area for 24 years, told AFP.
“He was with his girlfriend; they had to go in. And in the end, they couldn’t get there,” he said.
“When he came home, he was really in shock.”
A friend of his 17-year-old son has been transferred to Germany for treatment, suffering burns on 30 per cent of his body.
Mourners paid tribute at a table temporarily set up at the street entrance leading to the bar, which was blocked from view by a white screen.
Two police officers were guarding the circle.
Some girls stood for a long time holding bouquets of flowers and gathered courage to move towards the table through the crowd.
“There are dead and injured, and someone close to us is still missing. We have no news about them,” said one woman, speaking on condition of anonymity.
After offering flowers, they walked away hand in hand.
“They were young people, and people we know,” said another woman, who declined to give her name.
Asked if she knew what happened to them, she said, “Something, no. Something we’re still waiting for.”
The emergency units of Valais hospitals were immediately filled, and many of the injured were evacuated to Switzerland and neighbouring countries.
More than 30 victims were taken to hospitals with specialised burn units in Zurich and Lausanne, and six were taken to Keystone-ATS in Geneva, Switzerland. news The agency told.
The European Union said it was in contact with Swiss authorities to provide medical assistance, while French President Emmanuel Macron said some of the injured were already being cared for in French hospitals.
Swiss authorities said they were trying to identify the victims but warned that the process could take “several days, even weeks”.
