Deadly fire ravages New Year celebration at luxury Swiss ski resort; dozens feared dead, 100 injured — what we know so far

A fire erupted at a bar in the luxury Alpine ski resort town of Crans-Montana early Thursday, killing dozens of people and injuring over 100, Swiss police said, prompting authorities to cordon off the area and impose a no-fly zone as emergency operations continue.

The blast occurred during New Year celebrations at Le Constellation, a bar popular with tourists, shortly after midnight. At the time of the blast nearly 100 people were inside the bar.

Dozens of people are presumed dead, with more than 100 injured after fire ripped through ski resort bar, Swiss police said in a news conference.Police have also confirmed that the incident is not being treated as terror related. It comes after a police spokesperson said "we are seeing many injured and many dead," reported Sky News.

The region’s head of security said the incident involved people of several nationalities, though no further details were shared. Valais canton prosecutor-general Beatrice Pilloud said an investigation was under way “to identify the circumstances which caused this dramatic situation to occur”. She said that “currently we are favouring a fire and at no time is there question of any attack”, adding that she could not provide additional information at this stage out of respect for the families affected.

Pilloud said efforts were ongoing to identify the victims and return their bodies to families as quickly as possible. “To do that there is significant work which needs to be carried out. And this significant work will require the closure of the district.”

“There has been an explosion of unknown origin,” Gaetan Lathion, a police spokesman in Wallis canton in southwestern Switzerland, told AFP. “There are several injured, and several dead.”Police said the explosion took place at around 1.30 am local time as revellers were ringing in the New Year. Emergency services rushed to the scene and intervention efforts were still ongoing.“The intervention is still ongoing,” Lathion said, adding that the cause of the explosion had not yet been determined.

In a brief update, police said the area around the bar remains completely cordoned off, with a major emergency response involving numerous police, fire and rescue teams.Authorities have also declared a no-fly zone over Crans-Montana as rescue and investigation efforts continue, Reuters reported.Images and videos published by Swiss media and on social platforms show flames engulfing part of the building, with firefighters and rescue teams deployed nearby.

The Constellation Bar could hold up to 300 people and had a small terrace - although there are still no precise numbers of how many were inside on New Year's Eve. According to the BBC, the bar usually closes at 02. 00 local time, which would have been 30 minutes after the fire began. It is unclear if it was due to stay open later for the 2026 celebrations.