THE NEW YORK TIMES: The fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. at a bar at the Crans-Montana ski resort. Roughly 100 people were injured in the overnight blaze, the Swiss police said.
Dozens of people were “presumed dead” and about 100 were injured, many gravely, after a fire in a bar at a ski resort in Switzerland during a New Year’s celebration early Thursday, the Swiss police said.
The blaze broke out around 1:30 a.m. at Le Constellation, a bar in Crans-Montana, a municipality in Valais, a French-speaking canton, the police said. Officials said they were still investigating the cause of the fire and a subsequent explosion at the site, but they ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack.
Emergency services sent 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances to help take the injured to hospitals, officials said at a news briefing on Thursday morning. They added that the emergency ward and operating theaters of the nearest major medical center had run out of space. Teams of doctors and counselors were also dispatched to offer psychological help for survivors, the officials said.
“While this evening should have been a time for celebration and gathering, it turned into a nightmare,” Matthias Reynard, a senior member of the regional council, said at the briefing.
Nine hours after the fire began, the exact death toll was still unknown. The police asked those with relatives who may have been affected by the fire to contact the authorities. Live Updates » | Christopher F. Schuetze and John Yoon |Thursday, January 1, 2026
