Swiss resort fire: Investigators unveil likely cause of deadly blaze

Swiss authorities in a recent investigation have unveiled the possible cause of a deadly fire that engulfed a crowded Swiss Alps bar at a New Year’s party.

The investigators believe that fountain sparklers attached to champagne bottles and their dangerous proximity to the ceiling ignited the tragic blaze in the Crans-Montana ski resort that killed about 40 people and seriously injured 115 people.

The prosecutor Béatrice Pilloud said on Friday, “Everything suggests the fire started from the burning candles or ‘Bengal lights’ that had been attached to champagne bottles. These went too close to the ceiling.”

After viewing and analyzing the mobile phone footage and speaking to the survivors, the Swiss authorities have come to this cause of fire. The images also showed the sparklers stuck in the top of champagne bottles. These candle sparklers ignited the fire in the ceiling's soundproofing foam material.

While talking to a press conference, Pilloud said, “That mobile phone footage posted online and witness statements showed that a rapid, very rapid, and widespread conflagration ensued.”

The investigators are also investigating whether ceiling’s material was to blame for the rapid spread of fire, she added.

The tragic blaze heart-wrenchingly charred the victims, leaving authorities in difficulty to identify the bodies. Swiss officials said it could take days before they identify and name all the victims of the bar fire.

Crans-Montana's mayor Nicolas Feraud said, “The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies.”

The bereaved families have left facing a long and agonizing wait for their loved ones.

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

The Swiss president dubbed the fire as one of the deadliest tragedies that the country has ever experienced, while announcing the five-days mourning.