🔗 Share this article Swiss Ski Resort Fire Survivors Receive Care in Burns Units Throughout the Continent Survivors of the catastrophic nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in specialized trauma centers across Europe, while authorities say many of the dead were so severely injured that identification could take an extended period. A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions About 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the blaze ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club. “Our primary goal is to put names to all the victims,” stated Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud. The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a disaster of unprecedented, horrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a news conference. Challenging Task of Naming Victims So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their family members and foreign embassies worked urgently to find out if their citizens were among those involved in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory. A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental charts and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained. Hospitals Reach Capacity Even with one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, according to news agencies. Many more of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available. International Victims Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are missing and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana. Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information. A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “surprised” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet. The Italian ambassador said all but five of the injured had now been identified. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Three Italians were returned home on Thursday with more to follow. The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and eight others remained missing. Australia has said a citizen was hurt. Families in Anguish Loved ones have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing. Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was deeply traumatized,” Martins told reporters. A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins added. Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary barriers, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve. “We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.” She and a friend managed to get news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne. Long Road to Recovery The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26. “Patients are being medically stabilized and transferred to the surgery or to specialised beds,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be protracted and demanding, lasting several weeks or even months.”