Switzerland fire latest: Police provide first details on victims as families face agonising wait for information
Swiss authorities have identified the first four victims from the devastating Le Constellation bar fire as two Swiss women, aged 21 and 16, and two Swiss men, 18 and 16.
The families of the 40 killed in the New Year’s Eve fire have faced an agonising wait for information, with several saying they have been given no details at all in the days since.
“I’m living a nightmare, a nightmare. Either I find my son in the morgue, or I find him in critical condition. It’s terrible,” Laetitia Brodard-Sitre told Le Temps after searching hospitals for her 16-year-old son, Arthur.
The grandfather of 22-year-old Emilie Pralong hoped she may be in hospital, unharmed.“We always hope – we are full of hope,” Pierre told BFMTV.
“It helps to overcome whatever the hardship.”The first victim of the Crans-Montana bar fire was named as Emanuele Galeppini, a teenage golfer from Italy. His death has not formally been declared by the Swiss authorities, but an Italian golf federation said he was among those killed.
Sparkler candles on champagne bottles have been identified as the likely cause of the incident that also injured 119.
