 |
|
 |
||
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|||
MidWest MFA AgriServices group has locations at St. Joseph, Maysville, and KingCity. CLICK - MFA CONNECT
|
|
Printable Page
01/02 10:38 CST What to know about the Swiss Alpine bar fire that killed 40
What to know about the Swiss Alpine bar fire that killed 40
By JOHN LEICESTER, JAMEY KEATEN and STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) --- Swiss investigators believe sparkling
candles atop Champagne bottles started a fire in a bar at an Alpine ski resort
that left 40 people dead and another 119 injured during a New Year's
celebration.
Most injuries, many of them serious, occurred when the blaze swept through the
crowded bar in southwestern Switzerland in the early hours of Thursday.
Officials believe the candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting
sparks, ignited the fire when they came too close to the bar's ceiling.
Authorities planned to look into whether the material on the ceiling that was
designed to muffle sound conformed with regulations.
The Crans-Montana resort is best known as an international ski and golf venue.
Overnight, the Le Constellation bar morphed from a scene of revelry into the
site of one of Switzerland's worst tragedies.
Here's what we know:
A frantic attempt to escape The blaze broke out about 1:30 a.m. Thursday during a holiday celebration inside the Le Constellation bar. Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they were inside when they saw a male bartender lifting a female colleague on his shoulders as she held a lit candle in a bottle. The flames spread, collapsing the wooden ceiling, they told the broadcaster. People tried to escape from a nightclub area in the basement, up a flight of stairs and through a narrow door, causing a crowd surge, one of the women said. A young man at the scene said people smashed windows to escape, BFMTV reported. He said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames. Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation, rushed to help first responders after receiving a call from a friend who escaped the inferno. He described a scene of people trapped on the ground, severely injured and burned. "I have seen horror and I don't know what else would be worse than this," Campolo told French broadcaster TF1.
Blaze triggered flashover Investigators will examine whether sparklers were permitted for use in the bar. They will also look at the safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers, escape routes, and compliance with regulations, Valais canton Attorney General Batrice Pilloud said Friday. She also warned of possible prosecutions if there was any criminal liability involving individuals. "If this is indeed the case and these individuals are still alive, an investigation will be opened against them for negligent arson, negligent homicide, and negligent bodily harm," Pilloud said. Swiss officials described the blaze as a likely flashover, meaning that it triggered the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently. The injured suffered from serious burns and smoke inhalation. Some were flown to specialist hospitals across the country and elsewhere in Europe.
Italian and French nationals among the missing Of the 119 injured, 113 have been identified, officials said Friday. The injured include 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, Valais Canton police commander Frdric Gisler said Friday. The nationalities of 14 people remain unclear. The severity of the burns has made it very difficult to identify bodies, bringing fresh agony for families who now must hand over DNA samples to authorities. In some cases, wallets and any ID inside turned to ash in the flames. Emanuele Galeppini, a promising 17-year-old golfer who competed internationally, is officially listed as one of Italy's missing nationals. His uncle, Sebastiano Galeppini, told Italian news agency ANSA that their family is awaiting the DNA checks, though the Italian Golf Federation announced on its website that he had died. Top-flight French soccer team FC Metz said one of its trainee players, 19-year-old Tahirys Dos Santos, was badly burned and has been transferred by plane to Germany for treatment. On Instagram, an account filled up with photos of people who remained unaccounted for, with their friends and relatives begging for tips about the whereabouts of the missing.
Nearby hospital q
uickly reached capacity The nearby regional hospital in Sion took in a flood of victims from the fire. Its general director, Eric Bonvin, recounted how staff scrambled to determine the extent of people's injuries. The hospital --- in the heart of the Alps and no stranger to winter sports accidents --- was well staffed for the end of the year, when crowds flock to the mountains. On top of that, many colleagues who had not been scheduled to work rushed in to lend a hand. Still the hospital, which is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the resort by air, quickly hit full capacity, authorities said, taking in about 80 seriously injured people in just three hours. By Friday afternoon, most had transferred to other hospitals, with medical evacuation flights leaving from Sion's airport, while others had been discharged, Bonvin said.
A top venue for the world's best athletes With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region's snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit. The resort will host the best men's and women's downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan Cortina Olympics in February. The town's Crans-sur-Sierre golf club, down the street from the bar, stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course. ___ Dazio reported from Berlin and Leicester reported from Sion, Switzerland. Geir Moulson in Berlin, Graham Dunbar in Geneva and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.
A frantic attempt to escape The blaze broke out about 1:30 a.m. Thursday during a holiday celebration inside the Le Constellation bar. Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they were inside when they saw a male bartender lifting a female colleague on his shoulders as she held a lit candle in a bottle. The flames spread, collapsing the wooden ceiling, they told the broadcaster. People tried to escape from a nightclub area in the basement, up a flight of stairs and through a narrow door, causing a crowd surge, one of the women said. A young man at the scene said people smashed windows to escape, BFMTV reported. He said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames. Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation, rushed to help first responders after receiving a call from a friend who escaped the inferno. He described a scene of people trapped on the ground, severely injured and burned. "I have seen horror and I don't know what else would be worse than this," Campolo told French broadcaster TF1.
Blaze triggered flashover Investigators will examine whether sparklers were permitted for use in the bar. They will also look at the safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers, escape routes, and compliance with regulations, Valais canton Attorney General Batrice Pilloud said Friday. She also warned of possible prosecutions if there was any criminal liability involving individuals. "If this is indeed the case and these individuals are still alive, an investigation will be opened against them for negligent arson, negligent homicide, and negligent bodily harm," Pilloud said. Swiss officials described the blaze as a likely flashover, meaning that it triggered the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently. The injured suffered from serious burns and smoke inhalation. Some were flown to specialist hospitals across the country and elsewhere in Europe.
Italian and French nationals among the missing Of the 119 injured, 113 have been identified, officials said Friday. The injured include 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, Valais Canton police commander Frdric Gisler said Friday. The nationalities of 14 people remain unclear. The severity of the burns has made it very difficult to identify bodies, bringing fresh agony for families who now must hand over DNA samples to authorities. In some cases, wallets and any ID inside turned to ash in the flames. Emanuele Galeppini, a promising 17-year-old golfer who competed internationally, is officially listed as one of Italy's missing nationals. His uncle, Sebastiano Galeppini, told Italian news agency ANSA that their family is awaiting the DNA checks, though the Italian Golf Federation announced on its website that he had died. Top-flight French soccer team FC Metz said one of its trainee players, 19-year-old Tahirys Dos Santos, was badly burned and has been transferred by plane to Germany for treatment. On Instagram, an account filled up with photos of people who remained unaccounted for, with their friends and relatives begging for tips about the whereabouts of the missing.
Nearby hospital q
uickly reached capacity The nearby regional hospital in Sion took in a flood of victims from the fire. Its general director, Eric Bonvin, recounted how staff scrambled to determine the extent of people's injuries. The hospital --- in the heart of the Alps and no stranger to winter sports accidents --- was well staffed for the end of the year, when crowds flock to the mountains. On top of that, many colleagues who had not been scheduled to work rushed in to lend a hand. Still the hospital, which is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the resort by air, quickly hit full capacity, authorities said, taking in about 80 seriously injured people in just three hours. By Friday afternoon, most had transferred to other hospitals, with medical evacuation flights leaving from Sion's airport, while others had been discharged, Bonvin said.
A top venue for the world's best athletes With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region's snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit. The resort will host the best men's and women's downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan Cortina Olympics in February. The town's Crans-sur-Sierre golf club, down the street from the bar, stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course. ___ Dazio reported from Berlin and Leicester reported from Sion, Switzerland. Geir Moulson in Berlin, Graham Dunbar in Geneva and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.
