A police officer helps a boy to light a candle near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
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Investigators say they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire at a Swiss ski resort when they came too close to the ceiling of a bar crowded with New Year’s Eve revelers. Investigators said Friday that they planned to look into whether the material on the ceiling that was designed to muffle sound conformed with regulations. The candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, are a type that are commonly available for parties, officials said. Forty people were killed and another 119 injured in the blaze as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
Swiss authorities say they have opened an investigation into the managers of the bar where a fire at a New Year’s party left 40 people dead. A prosecutor said Saturday they are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire. More than 100 other people were injured in the blaze that broke out early Thursday at Le Constellation bar in the Alpine resort town of Crans-Montana. The process of identifying the dead and injured continued. The severity of burns has made the work difficult, and families have supplied authorities with DNA samples.
