Swiss and European politicians expressed condolences and the incoming Swiss president postponed his New Year’s address after a fatal fire disaster in a ski resort in French-speaking southern Switzerland killed several dozens.
According to Swiss media, a bar in the municipality of Crans-Montana in Valais caught fire around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. At a press conference in the morning, authorities said several dozen people are believed to be dead and around 100 injured, many of them seriously. Victims are likely to include nationals from several countries, as the resort is popular with international visitors.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who just took office on January 1, wrote on X: “What should have been a moment of joy turned, in the night in Crans-Montana, into a mourning that affects the whole of Switzerland and abroad.”