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Those who escaped of the devastating bar fire in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units in various European nations, while investigators report many of the deceased were so badly burned that identification could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

Approximately 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,” stated Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a disaster of unprecedented, horrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was exceptionally difficult. Parents of missing youths issued pleas for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so terrible and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Even with one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

A significant number of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are missing and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the death toll at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “surprised” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a radio station.

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and eight others remained missing. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.

Families in Anguish

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend narrowly missed being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was deeply traumatized,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been missing since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and transferred to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be protracted and demanding, lasting many weeks or even many months.”