The China Mail - 'Devastated' Switzerland grieves New Year inferno victims

The shellshocked Alpine nation paused for a minute of silence before church bells rang out across the country to remember the dead, most of whom were teenagers.

Close to the scene of the disaster at Le Constellation, a bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana, people gathered in silence in the falling snow.

And as the nation remembered the victims, prosecutors investigating the blaze questioned and detained the bar's co-owner Jacques Moretti, deeming the Frenchman presented a flight risk.

"Our country is devastated by this tragedy," Swiss President Guy Parmelin said at a national ceremony of remembrance in Martigny, southwest Switzerland.

"We honour the memory of those who were lost, and we stand beside those now facing a long journey of recovery.

"The start of 2026 should have brought the familiar hopes and promises -- a new year with a fresh start.

"For young people especially, such promises take flight on dreams and the rightful hopes of youth -- promises destined for the skies that fell too soon into the ashes of a night of horror."

The service was attended by around 1,000 people, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Luxembourg's former grand duke Henri.

Most of those caught up in the inferno at Le Constellation were Swiss, but a total of 19 nationalities were among those killed and wounded in the inferno.

Nine French and six Italian nationals were among the dead.

The service was shown live in the Crans-Montana congress centre, where around 1,400 people gathered to view the ceremony, many quietly sobbing.

When around a hundred first responders took their seats, they were met with a standing ovation.

- Bar owner in custody -

The blaze happened at around 1:30 am on New Year's Day.

Prosecutors believe it started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to sound insulation foam on the ceiling in the bar's basement section.

The bar's French owners, husband and wife Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are under criminal investigation, facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

In Switzerland, the presumption of innocence applies until a final conviction is pronounced.

After being questioned for six hours by Wallis cantonal public prosecutors in the southwestern region's capital Sion, Jacques Moretti was detained in custody and driven away in a van.

Wallis public prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud determined the "risk of flight to be real", given his backstory, "and his situation in Switzerland and abroad", she said in a statement.

A distressed-sounding Jessica Moretti was free to leave and told reporters outside: "My constant thoughts are with the victims and the people who are fighting" for their lives.

"It was an unimaginable tragedy. We never, ever could have imagined this. And it happened in our establishment, and I want to apologise."

Lawyers representing families of the victims had questioned why the couple had not been detained when they were charged on Saturday.

This week Crans-Montana authorities acknowledged that no fire safety inspections had been conducted at Le Constellation since 2019, prompting outrage.

In his speech, Parmelin said hope "depends on our justice system's ability to bring failures to light and to impose consequences without delay or leniency.

"This is a moral responsibility as well as a duty of the state."

- 'They were kids' -

The makeshift memorial in front of Le Constellation has been covered in a white igloo-like tarpaulin to protect the growing mass of flowers, candles and messages from recent heavy snowfall.

"There's a lot of anger, obviously, and a bit of a loss of confidence, because even though we're in Switzerland and think we're untouchable, this reminds us that we're not," said Antonin Adam, 23, from the neighbouring village of Miege.

"As someone who works in construction, I'm noticing all sorts of absurdities and things that shouldn't have been done the way they were," he added.

Half of those killed in the blaze were under 18, including two as young as 14.

Johan Verthoogen, a 31-year-old tourist from Belgium, told AFP he had been nearby on the night of the disaster, and had seen numerous fatalities laid out under blankets.

At her annual New Year press conference in Rome, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said those responsible for the disaster needed to be identified and prosecuted.

"What happened in Crans Montana is the result of too many people not doing their job or thinking they could make easy money," she said.

X.So--ThChM