The China Mail - After fire tragedy, small Swiss town mourns 'decimated generation'

The fire that ripped through Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana as it was packed with revellers ringing in 2026 killed 40 people, most of them teenagers, and injured 116.

Seven of those who perished in the blaze were members of the local football club in Lutry, an idyllic town of around 10,500 people on the shores of Lake Geneva.

"We have a generation here that has been decimated," FC Lutry president Stephane Bise told AFP at the club.

"It will be very, very difficult for those who remain to recover."

In a nearby church, dozens of people turned out on Thursday evening to say a final goodbye to 16-year-old Arthur, a junior and a coach at the club.

Dozens of candles and flowers were placed on the steps, along with small footballs decorated with hearts.

On the other side of the entrance, a giant poster displayed a drawing of Arthur with his little brother, smiling and embracing him from behind, flanked by the words: "Your little brother and your family will never forget you."

Arthur was about to turn 17.

His mother, Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, herself a coach at FC Lutry, spoke out in the days following the tragedy to describe her desperate quest to find her son.

Six young people carried Arthur's light-wooden coffin out of the church, with his younger brother bringing up the rear.

Paramedics and police officers stood at attention as the hearse passed.

- Entire community affected -

"It was very important that the young people be there" and that they could speak and "share their affection for Arthur", pastor Alain Brouze told AFP after the ceremony.

"They are the ones on the front lines."

This was not the first church service these young people had attended this week -- and it likely would not be the last.

In addition to the seven football players, several other members of the small community died in the fire.

Others are among the injured and some "helped rescue people from Crans-Montana", the pastor said.

"They witnessed truly harrowing scenes. It's really an entire community that has been affected."

Shortly after the tragedy, parishioners mobilised to set up a memorial so people could leave messages of support or prayers on the wall behind the alter.

One message read: "May you rest in peace, little angels," while another said: "Thinking of you. You're my favourite coach".

- 'Fly free to paradise' -

Five other FC Lutry players were still in hospital, and the girlfriend of one of the players has died.

Nearby private international school Champittet has also reported deaths among its students and four among its alumni, some of whom played for FC Lutry, according to Swiss media.

"We are experiencing an unimaginable tragedy," the FC Lutry president said.

The club has created a hotline and is providing ribbons cut from the sail of a legendary ship in Lutry port for people to write messages and attach to the fence around the pitch.

"You are children, fly free to paradise," reads one message, accompanied by a drawing of a peace dove and two hearts.

"This initiative came from members of our community who indicated that they needed to be useful, that they also needed to come together, to talk, to hug each other, to share their feelings about this horrific tragedy," Bise said.

His wife, Sophie Bise, and their son, who knew all of the young people who died, were also attending the funeral.

"These are young people they've known since they were four years old," Sophie Bise said.

"They all crossed paths at school more or less, and then on the soccer fields, and now at parties."

I.Ko--ThChM