Explosion at crowded bar in Crans-Montana during New Year celebrations
Emergency services respond to a deadly fire at a bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Footage: AFP
Several dozen people are believed to have died and around 100 others were injured after a fire tore through a crowded bar in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at around 1.30am local time at a bar called Le Constellation, which was packed with revellers celebrating the New Year. Police said the fire followed an explosion of unknown origin.
“Several dozen people are presumed to have died,” Frederic Gisler, police commander in Wallis canton, told reporters. Police spokesman Gaetan Lathion earlier confirmed that there were “several injured, and several dead.”
Footage circulating on social media and shared by Agence France-Presse shows the venue engulfed in flames, with people seen running from the scene as emergency services responded.
Authorities said the intervention is still ongoing and investigations are under way to determine the cause of the explosion. Further details are expected as rescue and recovery operations continue.
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