Bern [Switzerland], January 6: All 40 people who died in the New Year's Eve bar fire in Switzerland have been identified, police said on Sunday, with teenagers making up more than half of the death toll.
The final 16 victims have now been identified, Valais Police said, following the blaze at the mountain resort of Crans-Montana early on Jan. 1.
The fire was one of the worst disasters in recent Swiss history and has led to an outpouring of grief in Switzerland, which will hold a national day of mourning next week.
Hundreds of people held a silent procession through the frosty streets of Crans-Montana on Sunday to remember victims of the fire, which also injured more than 100 people.
Earlier on Sunday mourners attended a church service in the town where Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey said condolences had poured in from around the world, including from the Pope.
"Countless people join us - people whose hearts are broken," Lovey told the service.
"Many expressions of sympathy and solidarity reach us. Pope Leo XIV joins in our sorrow," he added.
"In a moving message, he expresses his compassion and his care for the victims' families and strengthens the courage of all who are suffering."
TEENAGERS AMONG THE DEAD
Some 26 of the 40 dead were teenagers, with the victims including a 14-year-old French national and a 14-year-old from Switzerland, police said. No names were released.
In total, 21 of the dead were Swiss citizens, seven were French and six Italian.
Other victims came from Romania, Turkey, Portugal, Belgium as well as one Swiss-French dual national and a 15-year-old girl who held French, Israeli and British nationality.
The mother of a 16-year-old Swiss boy Arthur Brodard confirmed overnight that he was among those killed.
"Now we can start our mourning, knowing he is in peace," Laetitia Brodard-Sitre said on her Facebook page.
NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING
Switzerland will hold a national day of mourning on Friday, national president Guy Parmelin said on Sunday, with church bells ringing across the country and a minute's silence planned.
"In this moment of reflection, everyone in Switzerland can personally remember the victims of the disaster," Parmelin told newspaper Sonntagsblick.
The fire likely started when "fountain candle" sparklers were held aloft too close to the ceiling at the Constellation bar, the region's chief prosecutor has said.
Some 119 people were injured, including many with severe burns.
The Swiss government said on Sunday that 35 patients have been transferred from hospitals in Switzerland to specialized clinics in Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy.
Two people who ran the bar are under criminal investigation on suspicion of offences including homicide by negligence, police said on Sunday.
Following an initial investigation, a criminal investigation has been launched into allegations against the two also for negligent bodily harm and negligently causing a fire.
The two people, who have not been named, have not been taken into custody because there was no indication they would try to evade the proceedings, the police said.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
