🔗 Share this article Swiss Ski Resort Blaze Survivors Are Treated in Specialist Clinics Throughout the Continent Survivors of the catastrophic bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in special burns units across Europe, while investigators report many of the deceased were so badly burned that naming the victims could take days or weeks. A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions About 40 people were killed and 115 hurt when the inferno engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and basement nightclub. “The first objective is to assign names to all the victims,” stated Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud. The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the devastating toll. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing. Gruelling Identification Process Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Families of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and foreign embassies worked urgently to determine if their citizens were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland. Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental charts and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained. Overwhelmed Medical Systems Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, according to news agencies. Many more of the injured were flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available. International Victims Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana. Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information. A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “taken aback” by the higher number. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet. The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Some victims were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow. The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and eight others remained missing. Australia has said a citizen was hurt. Families in Anguish Loved ones have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using online platforms to share images of those unaccounted for. Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was deeply traumatized,” Martins said. A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins added. Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve. “We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.” She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne. Long Road to Recovery The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most between 16 to 26. “Patients are being medically stabilized and moved to the surgery or to specialised beds,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even months.”