New Year’s Eve in the Swiss Alps transformed into a nightmare at Le Constellation nightclub, claiming at least 40 lives and injuring nearly 120 others. The tragedy unfolded in Crans-Montana as revelers welcomed the new year, quickly turning into a scene of unimaginable chaos and loss.
Investigators now believe the disaster was sparked by a dangerous display: flaming champagne bottles. A promotional video released by the club itself surfaced after the fire, showing waitresses navigating the crowded darkness with bottles topped with lit candles. The footage reveals the bottles were often raised dangerously close to the club’s ceiling.
The blaze erupted around 1:30 a.m. during the peak of the New Year’s celebration. Witnesses described a terrifyingly rapid spread of flames and thick, choking smoke that engulfed the packed venue. The initial spark, they say, came from a champagne bottle with a lit sparkler held near the wooden ceiling.
According to eyewitness accounts, a bartender was carrying a staff member on his shoulders as she presented the flaming bottle. Moments later, fire broke out overhead, igniting a flashover – a violent ignition of combustible gases that caused the flames to spread with terrifying speed. “The whole ceiling was in flames, and the fire spread really fast. It happened in seconds,” survivors recounted.
Panic seized the club as people desperately fought to escape. Sixteen-year-old Axel Clavier, from Paris, described a suffocating struggle for air and used a table to break through a plexiglass pane in a desperate bid for freedom. He recalled seeing waitresses delivering champagne bottles adorned with sparklers just before the chaos erupted.
As of Friday, authorities were working to identify the victims, with estimates suggesting the death toll could rise to 47. The tragedy has impacted multiple nationalities, including Swiss citizens, as well as individuals from Serbia, Bosnia, Belgium, Portugal, and Italy. Families are anxiously awaiting news of missing loved ones.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin called the disaster “one of the worst tragedies our country has ever known,” emphasizing the heartbreaking loss of so many young lives celebrating the arrival of a new year. Investigators are now focused on determining if criminal negligence played a role in the devastating fire.
Outside the burned-out nightclub, a growing memorial of flowers and candles serves as a poignant tribute to the victims. The scene is one of profound grief and shock, as a community grapples with the scale of the loss and the circumstances that led to this horrific event.
