On New Year's Eve, the Crans-Montana resort's crowded Le Constellation bar morphed from a scene of revelry into the site of one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies. The Associated Press' John Leicester explained how many of the injured were transported to hospitals across Switzerland and neighboring countries as the regional health facility hit capacity.

As featured on

Swiss investigators believe sparkling candles atop wine bottles ignited fatal bar fire

Swiss investigators believe sparkling candles atop wine bottles ignited fatal bar fire

Investigators say they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire at a Swiss ski resort when they came too close to the ceiling of a bar crowded with New Year's Eve revelers. Investigators said Friday that they planned to look into whether the material on the ceiling that was designed to muffle sound conformed with regulations. The candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, are a type that are commonly available for parties, officials said. Forty people were killed and another 119 injured in the blaze as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.

Post a comment
Stop watching this discussion.

Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal.

Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.

We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.

A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!

Sign Up
Log In
Purchase a Subscription