Crans-Montana, Switzerland: Sparklers held under a foam-clad ceiling likely ignited a deadly blaze that killed 40 New Year's revellers in a Swiss ski bar, authorities said on Friday, but the bar owner insisted that all safety standards were followed. "Everything suggests that the fire started from sparklers or Bengal candles" waved high near the ceiling, the chief prosecutor of the Wallis region, Beatrice Pilloud, told a press conference. When the party-goers realised the danger they were in, chaos broke out, with videos showing them scrambling and screaming. The exact number of people who were at the bar when it went up in flames remains unclear. As authorities on Friday began moving bodies from the burned-out bar, locals described Crans-Montana as stunned.

Source: The Star January 03, 2026 13:49 UTC