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Survivors of the devastating bar fire in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while investigators report many of the deceased were so badly burned that identification could take days or weeks.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“Our primary goal is to assign names to all the bodies,” stated Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Beyond these numbers are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin said at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Parents of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and diplomatic missions worked urgently to determine if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Even with one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, according to news agencies.

Many more of the injured were flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are missing and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on early data.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “surprised” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet.

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been identified. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and eight others remained unaccounted for. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using online platforms to circulate photos of those unaccounted for.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend narrowly missed being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was really in shock,” Martins said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend managed to get news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and moved to the surgery or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even months.”