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Survivors of the devastating bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units in various European nations, while authorities say many of the deceased were so severely injured that identification could take an extended period.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

“The first objective is to put names to all the bodies,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their loved ones and foreign embassies worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental charts and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so distressing and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly reached capacity in the hours after the fire. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

A significant number 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 help as clinics in Paris and Lyon took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but a foreign government 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 named. 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 nine French citizens were among the injured and eight others remained missing. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided 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 desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary barriers, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

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

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

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 medically stabilized and transferred to the surgery or to specialised beds,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even months.”