On 1 January 2026 at 01:30 CET, a fire and a subsequent explosion[4] occurred at Le Constellation bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland. The incident killed at least 47 people and left more than 115 others injured, many severely.[2][5] The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.[6][4]
Le Constellation was a bar, nightclub, and café in Crans-Montana, mainly popular with international tourists. It could hold 300 people and 40 could be accommodated on the terrace. The bar included a shisha and smoking area in addition to multiple TV screens for the viewing of sports events, particularly football.[7] It had a mostly younger clientele and was open year-round.[8]
The bar had been "a real institution", according to BBC News, and had "been around for at least 40 years".[9] It was acquired and remodeled in 2015 by a married French couple from Corsica, who own several establishments in the region. Tages-Anzeiger reported that guests rated the bar poorly on online rating platforms, complaining about poor treatment of personnel, a lack of professionalism, and security deficiencies.[7]
Fire
More than 100 people were inside the bar at the time of the fire, celebrating New Year's Eve.[10]
Eyewitnesses reported seeing a waitress with a bottle of champagne with the flames of a sparkler coming from it, standing on the shoulders of a waiter.[11] The flames were centimetres from the wooden ceiling, which caught fire.[11] A witness said the fire then engulfed the nightclub "within about 10 seconds".[11] A crowd surge occurred as people in the basement nightclub sought to escape up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.[12][13] Some resorted to smashing windows to escape, while one bystander who rushed in to help said that he saw people “burning from head to foot, no clothes any more”.[14] Swiss officials reported that the fire was worsened by a flashover, a phenomenon where a fire releases and ignites combustible vapours.[15]
The Valais cantonal police said that authorities were first alerted at 01:30 CET because of smoke emerging from the bar.[16] Police arrived at 01:32, and firefighters immediately thereafter;[8] 150 personnel,[17] 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances were deployed to the scene.[18] Police cordoned off the entirety of Crans-Montana and imposed a no-fly zone over the town,[16] and the Valais cantonal government declared a state of emergency.[19]Triage centres were set up in neighbouring bars (one of which was asked for its tablecloths to cover the dead) and a UBS branch.[8]
Victims
Swiss authorities said that around 40 people were killed and around 115 others were injured.[17] Some of the victims were foreign tourists, including two injured French nationals.[20][21] A reception center and specialized hotline were established to provide support for affected families.[17]Air ambulances transported injured persons to hospitals in Sion and Geneva, as well as to the national centers for the treatment of burn victims in Lausanne and Zurich.[16] The intensive care units in Valais reached full capacity, causing patients to be transported to other hospitals around the country.[18][22][23] Hospitals throughout Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, were "overwhelmed" with burn patients, most of whom were in severe condition.[17] In Italy, a burn unit was opened at the Ospedale Niguarda Ca' Granda in Milan.[citation needed]
Investigation
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.[6][4] According to a statement by Valais authorities, a flashover occurred in the bar, leading to "one or multiple explosions".[24]
Cantonal ministers, police, and the cantonal attorney general, Beatrice Pilloud, held a press conference in the morning of 1 January.[25] Pilloud said that an attack was not being considered as the cause of the explosion.[16] On the evening of the same day, the cantonal authorities and the president of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, who had been visiting the disaster site, held a second press conference.[26]
Eyewitnesses reported that there was a sparkler-topped champagne bottle held close to the ceiling that caught fire, after which flames spread rapidly through the venue.[27][28]
Aftermath
Authorities asked people in the Crans-Montana area to avoid skiing and other hazardous activities as local hospitals were at capacity.[29] The Federal Council ordered that the flags on federal buildings be flown at half-mast,[30] and a five-day period of mourning was declared.[31] Parmelin postponed the New Year's Day address to the nation.[32] When broadcast that afternoon, he called the fire "one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced".[4] The city of Lucerne cancelled its traditional New Year's fireworks in respect to those affected.[33]
Political leaders and governments around the world expressed solidarity with Switzerland following the fire and issued statements of condolence.[34] Neighboring countries were thanked by President Parmelin in his address for offering the use of their burn centers.[8] Switzerland has two such centers, one in Lausanne and one in University Hospital Zurich; at least one patient has been taken to Stuttgart, Germany.[8]
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