Swiss authorities struggle to identify tragic bar fire victims, families left waiting

Swiss investigators are grappling with the painful task of identifying the burned bodies of a tragic fire that engulfed a crowded Swiss Alps bar at a New Year’s Eve party.

As per authorities, around 40 people have died and at least 115 have seriously been injured in a deadly incident that occurred in the upscale Swiss resort of Crans-Montana.

Given the intensity of blaze and severity of charred bodies, Swiss officials said it could take days before they identify and name all the victims of the bar fire.

The bereaved families have left facing a long and agonizing wait for their loved ones, as reported by BBC. 

While talking in a press conference, Crans-Montana's mayor Nicolas Feraud said, “"The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies.”

According to Mathias Reynard, head of government of the canton of Valais, the forensic experts are scrambling to name all the victims by using dental and DNA samples.

“All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100 percent sure,” he said.

Different foreign embassies, including France and Italy, are also struggling to find missing nationals who could be the victims of tragic fire.

Swiss investigators are also trying the actual cause of the fire. As per initial investigation the blaze appeared to be an accident rather than an attack.

The eyewitnesses and survivors on social media said that the dangerous proximity candles to the bar's basement could have caused the fire.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said the blaze is "one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced.”

In the wake of a heart-wrenching tragedy on New Year's Eve, the Swiss government has announced that the national flag would be flown at half-mast for 5 days as a sign of mourning.