New Year’s Nightmare: 40 Dead in Inferno at Swiss Luxury Resort

The festive atmosphere of New Year’s Eve in the upscale Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana has turned into a scene of unimaginable horror. What began as a glitzy celebration at the popular Le Constellation bar and nightclub ended in one of Switzerland’s deadliest tragedies in decades, leaving at least 40 people dead and over 100 injured.
The disaster struck at approximately 1:30 AM local time, just as revelers were ringing in 2026. While initial reports mentioned a loud “explosion,” emerging witness accounts paint a picture of a preventable catastrophe sparked by negligence. Two witnesses told French broadcaster BFMTV that they saw a bartender lifting a colleague onto his shoulders while she held a lit flare or candle in a champagne bottle. The open flame reportedly ignited the venue’s dry wooden ceiling, sending fire racing across the structure “like lightning.”
Within seconds, the rustic wooden building—a staple of the resort’s alpine charm—became a death trap. Panic ensued as hundreds of guests, including many international tourists, attempted to flee. Survivors described a chaotic crush at the exits, with many trapped in the basement nightclub area, unable to navigate the narrow staircase against the tide of fleeing people. Desperate partygoers were seen smashing windows with barstools to escape the heat and smoke.
“It was meant to be a moment of joy, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Reynard, head of the Valais cantonal government.
The emergency response was massive but struggled against the intensity of the blaze. Authorities deployed 10 helicopters and over 40 ambulances, imposing a no-fly zone over the resort to facilitate evacuations. However, for many inside, help arrived too late. Valais Police Commander Frédéric Gisler confirmed that “several tens of people” were deceased, noting that identification could take weeks due to the severity of the burns.
As the sun rose over the blackened ruins of Le Constellation, the focus shifted to accountability. Prosecutors have ruled out terrorism but are launching a criminal probe into potential safety violations. Questions are already mounting about the building’s fire suppression systems and whether the venue was over capacity. In a town synonymous with Swiss precision and safety, the failure to prevent such a rudimentary hazard has sent shockwaves through the global elite who frequent the resort.