New details are emerging about the waitress who allegedly caused the deadly fire at the Swiss bar in Crans-Montana. The 24-year-old lost her life in the tragic incident, which claimed 40 lives and left 116 seriously injured. Cyane Panine has been identified as the woman seen in footage wearing a helmet and holding sparklers minutes before the fire broke out at the bar.
Read: Crans-Montana: This is the French waitress who accidentally started the bar fire – She died from suffocation (Images & Video)
As revealed by the unfortunate girl’s family, the 24-year-old was involved in an intense workplace dispute with the bar owners, while those close to Jacques Moretti, owner of the Alpine bar, have been saying for several days that the young woman was not friends with the owners.
It should be noted that Cyane was caught on video holding two champagne bottles with sparklers while on a colleague’s shoulders. The sparklers apparently ignited the sound insulation foam on the basement ceiling, leading to the deadly fire.
The bar owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, face trial on multiple charges, including “manslaughter by negligence.” They had claimed the 24-year-old was like an “adopted daughter” and “sister” to them.
However, the Panine family’s lawyer disputed these claims, noting that Cyane had contacted employee protection services to demand a contract, work certificates and wages she was entitled to under Swiss law.
Crans-Montana: Waitress’s relationship with bar owners was strictly professional
For their part, the girl’s family states that the 24-year-old faced issues with payment and provision of legal documents from the Morettis, while their relationship was professional and not intimate, as the owners tried to present in court. The family’s lawyer added that the family feels “helplessness, injustice, uncertainty, but also anger,” and will fight to convict those responsible.
Her parents have already accused the owners of locking the emergency exit. According to court documents, the young waitress died from suffocation “in a pile of bodies behind a locked door.”
According to the Daily Mail, the business owner had asked the young waitress to “liven up the atmosphere” at the bar in the early morning hours of January 1st. Based on this, waitresses were supposed to put sparklers in champagne bottles and some of them had to climb on their colleagues’ shoulders.
According to the same report, the bar owner testified that he was informed by phone about the fire by his wife. At the time of the tragedy he was at another establishment owned by the couple. He tried to enter the bar through a basement entrance, but it was locked from inside. Behind the closed door, several unconscious people were reportedly found, including the young waitress.
The bar owner, Jacques Moretti, confirmed that these specific effects had been used for about ten years, without any accident ever occurring.
His wife and business co-owner, Jessica Moretti, reportedly admitted that fireworks were used during champagne service to “lift spirits.” “I never demanded it, but I never forbade it either,” she stated.
Speaking to French television network France 3, the young woman’s parents also spoke publicly. Her mother expressed suspicion that the door was locked because “the owner was afraid customers might leave without paying.” Her father said: “I believe anger will erupt very quickly. But right now we are burying our daughter and doing it as dignifiedly as possible. Everything else will come later.”
As local authorities admitted, the bar had last been inspected for fire safety measures in 2019, although such inspections are supposed to be conducted annually.
It is reminded that bar owner Jacques Moretti is in pre-trial detention, with the prosecutor citing flight risk, as he is a French citizen. His wife remains free. The couple’s lawyers argue there is no intention to avoid judicial investigation.
