On 2 January 2026, following the New Year’s Eve fire at the Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, the Valais cantonal police and public prosecutor provided an update on the identification of victims, the progress of the investigation and the work being done. The inquiry continues with the aim of establishing the causes of what authorities describe as an unprecedented event, as well as any potential liability. Identification work is being carried out in close co-operation with national and international partners.
A total of 119 people were injured. Of these, 113 have been formally identified; identification procedures are still under way for six others. Among the identified injured are 71 Swiss citizens, along with 14 French, 11 Italian and four Serbian nationals, as well as one Bosnian, Belgian, Luxembourgish, Polish and Portuguese national each. The nationality of 14 individuals has not yet been confirmed.
Forty people are confirmed to have died. For ten of them, identification remains partial and is continuing. Case files have been opened in co-ordination with several countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Romania, Serbia and Turkey, in order to expedite the process.
Several people have already been interviewed as part of the investigation launched by the Valais public prosecutor. All lines of inquiry are being examined, in particular the compliance of the premises and the safety measures in place, such as fire extinguishers, escape routes and permitted occupancy. The investigation seeks to determine the precise cause of the fire and to establish any criminal responsibility.
The authorities have received support from police forces across Switzerland, as well as from around 40 specialists from the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) network. Fedpol has made further experts available to assist with the identification of victims, tracing relatives abroad and informing foreign authorities. The Forensic Institute Zurich is contributing technical expertise on fire analysis. Around 40 uniformed officers and a similar number of judicial police investigators, including identity-forensics specialists, remain assigned to the case.
The leading hypothesis is that the fire was triggered by pyrotechnic “Bengal-type” flares on bottles placed too close to the ceiling. “Everything suggests the fire originated from bengal flares (“bougies incandescent” or “feux de bengale“) fixed to champagne bottles,” said Béatrice Pilloud, the Valais attorney-general at the press conference. These devices generate significant heat and differ from small sparklers. The result, she said, was a rapid, generalised flashover. Investigators have collected and analysed video footage and interviewed survivors and the bar’s two French managers, who are being treated as persons of interest rather than simple witnesses. On-site examinations are continuing, and no hypothesis has been ruled out.
Further enquiries will focus on renovation work carried out in the bar, the materials used, operating licences and safety provisions, including extinguishers, escape routes and compliance with fire regulations, in particular the number of people in the premises. Criminal responsibility will also have to be determined, Ms Pilloud said, with possible charges including negligent arson, negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm.
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Valais Police statement (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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