Emanuele Galepini, a 16-year-old Italian international golfer who lived in Dubai, is the first identified victim of the tragedy at Le Constellation club in Crans-Montana, as authorities struggle to identify the dead and injured. Swiss officials say the burns suffered by the young New Year’s Eve party-goers at the club are so extensive that it will take days to identify all victims. Italian authorities announced that, based on information from Swiss authorities, the death toll has reached 47, while more than 100 are injured, many of whom are in very serious condition. Almost all but five of the 112 casualties have now been identified. Parents of missing people are making desperate appeals for their children, while foreign embassies are trying to determine if their citizens are among the young people trapped in one of the biggest tragedies in modern Swiss history.
“I’ve been searching for my son for 30 hours. The wait is unbearable”
“I’ve been searching for my son for 30 hours. The wait is unbearable,” said Leticia, mother of 16-year-old missing Arthur, to BFM TV, desperately trying to find out if he is dead or alive and where he is. “If he’s in the hospital, I don’t know which hospital he’s in. If he’s in the morgue, I don’t know which morgue he’s in. If my son is alive, he’s alone in the hospital and I can’t be by his side.” Authorities have warned that victim identification and the final death toll will take time because many victims are charred beyond recognition. “This whole operation must be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to families unless we are 100% certain,” said Mathias Reynard, president of the local government of Valais. Specialists are using dental records and DNA samples in the victim identification process, he clarified.
The cause of the fire is not officially confirmed
According to survivor testimonies and video footage that has circulated widely on social media, the basement ceiling of the club, made of synthetic soundproofing materials, caught fire from fireworks attached to champagne bottles being carried by waitresses. Shocked visitors and residents of Crans-Montana are leaving candles and flowers on the roadside leading to the popular bar. Some say they were lucky not to be inside on New Year’s Eve night after leaving discouraged by the huge queues. The area is cordoned off by police. The bodies of some victims remain in the bar.
