Switzerland holds minute of silence for Alpine town bar fire victims

Switzerland held a nationwide minute of silence on Friday to remember the victims of a deadly bar fire on New Year’s Eve in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana that killed 40 people and injured 116 others.

The silence was followed by church bells across the country ringing for five minutes, at the start of a national day of mourning.

"We owe those affected, their families and loved ones respect, remembrance, and the obligation to do everything we can to ensure that such a catastrophe does not happen again," Swiss President Guy Parmelin wrote in an open letter on Friday.

Parmelin said he bowed his head to those "who were lucky enough to survive the fire disaster, but are now only at the beginning of a long road to recovery."

Investigators have said they believe sparkling candles atop champagne bottles started the fire at Le Constellation bar when they came too close to the ceiling.

Authorities are investigating whether the ceiling soundproofing complied with regulations and whether candles are permitted for use in the bar.

It emerged earlier this week that fire safety inspections hadn't been carried out since 2019.

Under regional regulations, all buildings in the canton of Valais that are "accessible to the public" must undergo an annual fire safety inspection.

The severity of burns made it difficult to identify some victims, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.

Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the bar managers.

The two French nationals are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, according to the Valais region’s chief prosecutor.

In their first public comments since the fire, Jacques and Jessica Moretti said on Tuesday they were "devastated and overwhelmed with grief," and pledged their "full cooperation" with investigators.

Representatives of 37 countries, as well as from the EU, have been invited to Friday's commemoration, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) said.

Italy will be represented by President Sergio Mattarella and France's President Emmanuel Macron will also attend.

Luxembourg will be represented by former Grand Duke Henri, Belgium by Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Serbia by Foreign Minister Marko Đurić.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is also due to attend.

Switzerland's Federal Council will be represented by President Guy Parmelin, Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi and other ministers.

The entire State Council of Valais will also be in attendance.