Sparklers blamed for deadly Swiss bar fire

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AFP) — Sparklers held under a foam-clad ceiling likely ignited a deadly blaze that killed 40 New Year’s revellers in a Swiss ski bar, authorities said on Friday, but the bar owner insisted that all safety standards were followed.

Investigators working to get to the cause of the tragedy, which happened in the early hours of Thursday in the Swiss Alps resort town of Crans-Montana, have homed in on the sparklers after viewing mobile phone footage and speaking to survivors.

The images, some posted online, were recorded by partygoers in Le Constellation bar and show sparklers stuck in the top of champagne bottles held close to the basement bar’s low ceiling, which was covered with soundproofing foam material.

Videos showed the material catching fire but the patrons — many of them in their late teens and 20s — kept dancing, unaware of the death trap they were in.

“Everything suggests that the fire started from sparklers or Bengal candles” waved high near the ceiling, the chief prosecutor of the Wallis region, Beatrice Pilloud, told a press conference.

When the partygoers realized the danger they were in, chaos broke out, with videos showing them scrambling and screaming.

Witnesses described a scene of terror, as people tried to break windows to escape while others, badly burned, poured into the street.

Most of the 119 survivors were in a critical condition, overloading Swiss hospitals so much that dozens were being taken to neighboring European countries for specialized burns treatment.