CRANS MONTANA: The managers of the Swiss ski resort bar where dozens died during a fire at a New Year’s celebration are under investigation for negligent manslaughter, authorities said on Saturday.

French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti owned and managed Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, which was crammed with young partygoers when a blaze began in a packed basement at around 1:30am on Thursday.

Forty people were killed and 119 injured, most of them seriously, according to the latest toll.

Dozens of those badly burnt were taken to nearby countries for urgent treatment, while authorities pointed the finger at lit sparklers attached to champagne bottles igniting foam on the ceiling.

“A criminal investigation was opened last night against the two managers of the bar,” police and public prosecutors in the southwestern Swiss canton of Wallis said in a statement.

“They are charged with manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.”

The authorities recalled that “the presumption of innocence applies”, and a police spokesman said the pair had not yet been detained.

First fatalities identified

The announcement came shortly after the first bodies pulled from the bar were identified: four young Swiss nationals, two of them just 16 years old.

Police said the bodies had been returned to their families as efforts continue to identify the other victims. Six of those injured also remain unidentified, police said.

Many of those injured were foreign nationals, and given Crans-Montana’s international popularity, non-Swiss citizens are also expected to figure among the dead.

“Switzerland is profoundly saddened,” Justice Minister Beat Jans told reporters near a makeshift memorial outside Le Constellation, overflowing with flowers, candles and messages of grief and support.

“It’s incredibly emotional to see the place and realise how strong the power of these flames must have been,” he said, after visiting the less-damaged first-floor section of the bar.

“You can smell it… You can see the damage that was caused by these flames, they must have been incredibly intensive. 500, 600 degrees even on the top floor,” he said. “It was an enormous tragedy.”

Swiss authorities warned it could take days to identify everyone who perished, leaving an agonising wait for family and friends, while desperate appeals to find those missing circulated online.

The question of whether safety standards were respected has been debated ever since the devastating blaze. Jacques Moretti insisted to the Swiss press that all safety norms were followed at the bar, which according to the Crans-Montana website had a capacity of 300 people plus 40 on its terrace.

But even before charges were brought against the couple, Wallis chief prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said safety norm compliance was a key focus of the investigation.

She told reporters that the leading hypothesis was that “sparklers or Bengal candles attached to champagne bottles and lifted too close to the ceiling” had ignited the deadly blaze. One video shared on social media showed the low wooden ceiling — covered with soundproofing foam — catching alight and the flames spreading quickly, as revellers continued to dance, unaware of the death trap they were in. Once they realised, panic set in.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2026