Many of injured in Swiss resort fire fighting for their lives

Switzerland New Year's Eve bar fire leaves at least 40 dead, many injured fighting for their lives

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — At least 40 people were killed and dozens more were injured fighting for their lives after a devastating New Year's Eve bar fire in Switzerland, with initial findings showing the blaze was likely caused by sparkler candles being carried too close to the ceiling, the local prosecutor said.

The fire that spread among the mostly young crowd of revellers in Le Constellation bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana on Sunday night has prompted an outpouring of sympathy from around the world for the victims and their families.

The official toll is 40 dead, while 119 have been injured, many of them very seriously. Those numbers are not final, officials said.

So severe were the burns that Swiss officials said it could take days before they name all those killed in the fire. Initial reports had put the death toll at 10 with around 1,000 people hurt as panic-stricken partygoers tried to escape the inferno after it began when a spark from one of the novelty safe New Year's Eve fireworks accidentally set fire to flammable sound insulation material on the ceiling.

The official investigation, meanwhile, focused on the painful task of identifying the burned bodies. It warned that this process was very sensitive and would take time.

Around 50 of the injured have been, or will be, transferred to burn units in hospitals elsewhere in Europe, the Valais area chief Mathias Reynard said. Germany and France are among the countries treating some of the injured.

Of the injured, 113 have been identified, 71 of whom are Swiss, 14 French and 11 Italian, four Serbian, one Bosnian, one Belgian, one Polish, one Portuguese and one Luxembourgish, police chief Frederic Gisler said.

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