The China Mail - 'Devastated' Switzerland grieves deadly New Year fire

The 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.

People travelled from other Swiss towns and even from abroad to attend the live-streaming of the official event, which was held in Martigny, on giant screens in Crans-Montana.

As the nation remembered the victims of the disaster at Le Constellation, a bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana, prosecutors investigating the blaze detained its co-owner, Jacques Moretti, after having interviewed him.

"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."

- Applause for first responders -

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.

At the nearby Crans-Montana congress centre, around 1,400 people gathered to view the ceremony, many quietly sobbing. When around a hundred first responders entered to take up their reserved seats, they were met with a standing ovation.

Azeddine Mekrabech had travelled from Lyon over the border in France to place 40 white roses -- one for each victim -- at the makeshift shrine in front of the burnt-out bar.

"I'm someone who likes to party quite a bit," said 30-year-old Mekrabech.

"I saw myself... I felt I had to make the gesture."

The memorial was filled with flowers, candles, toys and pictures of the victims.

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, which happened at around 1:30am on New Year's Day.

Nine French and six Italian nationals were among the dead.

- Jacques Moretti in custody -

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

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

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.

They were questioned by Wallis cantonal public prosecutors in the southwestern region's capital Sion.

Afterwards, Jacques Moretti was detained in custody.

Earlier this week, the couple said they were "overwhelmed with grief", pledging their "full cooperation" with investigators.

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' -

People in Crans-Montana followed the ceremony on giant screens, including at the congress centre that for days after the blaze accommodated families seeking news of missing loved ones.

The memorial that has sprung up in front of the bar has been covered in a white igloo-like tarpaulin to protect it from heavy snowfall.

On a nearby table, a thick memorial book brims with messages.

"A great national loss forever etched in our minds. May they rest in peace," one reads. "My heart is heavy," reads another.

"Everything is different now," said a French woman in her 30s who works seasonally in Crans-Montana and who did not want to give her name.

"Before, this place was all smiles. Now, there are no more smiles here," she told AFP on Friday.

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.

"It was really tough... to see those bodies," he said. "They were kids."

"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.

Meloni was later due to attend a mass for Italian victims of the fire, at a church in Rome.

G.Tsang--ThChM