A video of the massive fire at an alpine resort in Switzerland that occurred on Thursday has captured the horror and chaos that unfolded in the area.
The fire can be seen in the video, along with people standing outside. An image of the destruction caused shows a pile of rubble as first responders try to rescue victims.
The incident occurred less than a couple of hours past midnight as revellers gathered to celebrate the new year, according to a report by The Associated Press. Dozens are feared dead while more than 100 have been injured, as per police officials quoted by the news agency.
Le Constellation in the ski and golf resort, Crans-Montana, changed from a place of celebration to the location of one of the worst tragedies in Switzerland.
As per Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler, “Several tens of people” are presumed dead in the incident. However, many media outlets are reporting the death toll from the incident to be 40.
Efforts are underway to identify the victims and inform their families, but “that will take time and for the time being, it is premature to give you a more precise figure," the police commander said, as per AP.
How did the fire start?
The Valais Canton attorney general, Beatrice Pilloud, has said that it is too early to determine the cause of the fire, with experts not yet being able to go inside the wreckage to carry out necessary inspections.
“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud was quoted by AP as saying.
However, French broadcaster BFMTV spoke to two women who survived the incident, and they said that they saw a barman inside carrying a barmaid on his shoulders, and the latter had a bottle in her hand with a lit candle in it. According to them, the candle set fire to the ceiling of the bar. The flames then spread quickly and the ceiling collapsed, the broadcaster reported them as saying.
Chaos as people rushed to escape blaze
BMFTV spoke to another witness who said that people inside the bar rushed towards the windows to escape the blaze, and broke the same for a way out. Some were gravely injured as they tried to escape the fire.
One person told BMFTV that he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.
Parents of youngsters who were presumably inside the establishment also came in their cars to see whether their children were trapped inside.
