Dozens of people are presumed dead after a fire broke out at a bar in Switzerland during a New Year’s Eve celebration.
An explosion was heard in the basement of Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, a ski resort in Valais, at 1.30am local time before the blaze.
Around 200 people, including minors, were inside the nightclub at the time, according to Swiss news outlet Blick.
The exact death toll is unclear, but officials have said it could be up to 40.
As many as 100 people were also injured, many with severe burns, police chief Frédéric Gisler said at a press conference earlier this morning.
Are you in Crans-Montana? Email us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
He added that it is ‘probable’ that people of different nationalities were involved in the incident.
At least two were French and none are known to be British nationals, the Foreign Office told Metro.
Nine hours after the fire began, hospitals in French-speaking Switzerland were overwhelmed with burn victims, an insider told broadcaster RTS.
The youngest of the 22 burn victims being treated at the University Hospital of Lausanne was 16.
‘We all ran out screaming and running’
The cause of the explosion and resulting fire is unclear but terrorism has been ruled out.
Witnesses have claimed the fire occurred after a waitress put candles on top of champagne bottles, one of which was then held up to the ‘wooden’ ceiling.
French national Emma told French broadcaster BFM: ‘In a matter of seconds, the entire ceiling was ablaze. Everything was made of wood.’
Escape was difficult, locals told Metro, as a ‘stampede’ of dozens of people were trying to get out from the same narrow staircase.
A passer-by told the BBC that they broke inside the building to see people ‘burning from head to foot, no clothes anymore’.
Photographs posted to TripAdvisor show that the staircase leading out of the basement nightclub is narrow and appears wooden.
Two other locals told Metro that ‘sparklers’ were behind the blaze.
‘How did this happen? I heard screaming after. People ran out everywhere and then fire engines came,’ one said.
‘It was like a horror movie. People are crying. It’s a disaster.’
One bus driver suggested the inferno was caused by fireworks, which officials had banned over New Year’s, citing fire risks.
A resident added: ‘I heard a number of massive bangs which sounded like bombs going off. It was crazy.
‘…We will be in mourning for days. We will never get over this. How did it happen?’
The area around the bar remains closed and a no-fly zone has been imposed over Crans-Montana.
Crans-Montana is a popular destination in the Alps, particularly among British skiers, known for its views of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc.
Le Constellation, sometimes called the Constellation Bar, has been open since 2015. It can accommodate up to 300 people and a further 40 in its lounge.
According to 20 Minutes, it is owned by a couple from Corsica.
The bar’s social media channels were taken down in the early hours today and it is listed on Google as ‘temporarily closed’.
Swiss president Guy Parmelin wrote on X that he has cancelled his New Year’s engagements.
‘What should have been a moment of joy turned into a night of mourning in Crans-Montana, affecting the whole of Switzerland and abroad,’ he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, said his thoughts are with the ‘bereaved families and the injured’.
