In brief
In a devastating incident, a New Year's Eve fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, has claimed the life of an 18-year-old, bringing the total fatalities to 41. The victims, predominantly young, suffered severe burns, with many still receiving treatment in hospitals across Europe. The investigation points to safety negligence as the cause of the fire, which ignited from sparklers attached to champagne bottles. Authorities are taking legal action against the bar owners and local officials for manslaughter and negligence.
A teenager who was injured when a deadly bar fire broke out in a Swiss ski resort on New Year's Eve has died in hospital, taking the death toll to 41, the local public prosecutor announced.
An 18-year-old Swiss national died at a hospital in Zurich on January 31," the Wallis canton's public prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said in a statement. No further information would be released at this stage.
The fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana - a venue known to be popular with a younger crowd in the ski resort town, where the drinking age is 16 - also injured 116 people.
Most of the victims of the fire were young - eight were under the age of 16 - and many are still being treated in hospital for severe burns.
Switzerland's Federal Office for Civil Protection told the AFP news agency on Friday that, as of Monday, 44 patients were being treated abroad. They included 18 in France, 12 in Italy, eight in Germany and six in Belgium.
The Wallis health ministry told the news agency that 37 patients were still in Swiss hospitals as of Monday.
Initial findings from an investigation suggest the fire began as sparklers attached to champagne bottles ignited soundproof foam that lined the ceiling of the bar's basement.
Authorities have acknowledged that the bar had not undergone safety checks for five years.
The owners of the bar, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, have been accused by authorities of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
Criminal proceedings have also been brought against the municipality's head of public safety and a former council fire safety inspector.
A Swiss court has imposed a travel ban on Jessica Moretti as an alternative to pre-trial detention. She has had to surrender her passport and must report to police every day.
She previously told reporters that she was sorry about the unthinkable tragedy.
Jacques Moretti is being held in custody for an initial period of 90 days.
