Newsroom
In the days after the flames died out, the tragedy at a Swiss Alpine bar has shifted from a night of terror to a long, painful reckoning, as families wait for news, doctors fight to save the badly burned, and authorities confront the scale of a disaster that continues to unfold.
Inside hospitals across Switzerland and beyond, dozens of young people remain in critical condition after suffering severe burns in the New Year’s Eve fire at Le Constellation. Around 50 of the injured have been transferred to specialist burn units in other European countries, including France and Germany, reflecting the seriousness of their injuries and the limits of local capacity.
Officials warn that the death toll, currently at least 40, may not yet be final. Identification of victims has been slow and agonising, with prosecutors saying the burns are so extensive that confirming identities could take days. For families, the waiting has become its own ordeal, marked by uncertainty and dread.
Investigators believe the fire likely began with party “fountain candles” attached to champagne bottles, which were carried too close to the ceiling. From there, the blaze spread with devastating speed, possibly worsened by ceiling materials. Prosecutors stressed the inquiry is ongoing and that no conclusions about responsibility have yet been reached.
Among the first victims to be publicly identified was 16-year-old Italian international golfer Emanuele Galeppini, whose death sent shockwaves through sporting communities in Italy and abroad. Tributes described him as talented, passionate, and full of promise. His was a life cut short before it had truly begun.
Outside the charred remains of the bar, grief has taken physical form. Flowers, candles, and handwritten notes now line the road leading up to the cordoned-off site. Teenagers and young adults, many the same age as those who died or remain missing, gather in silence, embracing strangers, some openly weeping. “It could have been us,” said one young woman who decided not to enter the bar that night, her voice trembling as she looked at the tributes.
For parents of the missing, the days blur together in a cycle of hope and despair. Relatives cluster near police lines and hospitals, sharing scraps of information and holding one another upright when words fail. “We try to give each other hope,” said the mother of a 16-year-old boy still unaccounted for. “But we are in shock.”
