Around 40 people have been killed and 100 injured, most of them seriously, after an explosion tore through a crowded bar during a New Year's Eve party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana, Swiss officials said on Thursday, Jan. 1.
A fire broke out at 1.30 a.m. in a bar called "Le Constellation" in the resort in southwestern Switzerland. The cause of the blast remains unclear but authorities said it appeared to be an accident.
"At the moment we are considering this a fire and we are not considering the possibility of an attack," prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud told a press conference, adding that authorities had opened a full investigation.
Some of the victims are from other countries, said Stephane Ganzer, head of security for the Valais canton. The canton's head of police, Frederic Gisler, said a helpline had been opened for relatives.
"I can’t hide from you that we are all shaken by what happened overnight in Crans," Gisler told the news conference.
"Our count is about 100 injured, most seriously, and unfortunately tens of people are presumed dead," he said, adding that patients had been dispatched to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich.
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