Two people who ran a Swiss bar that caught fire during a New Year's Eve party, killing 40 people, are under criminal investigation on suspicion of multiple crimes, including manslaughter, prosecutors said.
Two days after the fire, which injured 119 people, including those with severe burns, authorities are still trying to identify many of the dead, as attention turns to the question of how one of Switzerland's worst tragedies could have happened.
Two bar operators are suspected of crimes including manslaughter, negligent bodily harm and arson, prosecutors in Valais, the canton where the bar is located, in the luxury ski resort of Crans-Montana, said in a statement. Their names were not released, Reuters reports.
"This was a huge tragedy. We are all extremely sorry that this had to happen," Swiss Justice Minister Bit Jans told reporters, standing outside the fenced-off Le Constellation bar.
He said temperatures during the fire must have reached "500, 600 degrees (Celsius)."
Reuters was not immediately able to contact the bar owners for comment, nor to reach prosecutors to verify whether they were the individuals targeted by the investigation.
Reacting to news of the criminal investigation, locals who are still grieving the sudden loss of so many lives said it was important for authorities to fully investigate the case.
"We need a moment to gather ourselves," said one of them, 55-year-old Patricia Mazzoni. "But after that, I would like an independent investigation. An independent investigation to determine who failed here."
Witnesses reported that employees at Le Constellation carried so-called fountain candles on champagne bottles, and questions were also raised regarding the foam material used to soundproof the ceiling in the basement where guests were entertaining.
Beatrice Pilu, the chief prosecutor in Vale, said indications suggest the fire started because sprinklers came too close to the ceiling.
"From that moment on, a rapid, very rapid and widespread fire followed," she said yesterday.
The investigation will include renovations made to the bar, fire suppression systems and evacuation exits, as well as the number of people inside at the time of the fire, prosecutors said.
Police arrived quickly at the scene, according to local residents, but the victims were so badly burned that investigators said it would take days to identify the bodies.
Illustrating the painstaking nature of the work, the Valea Prosecutor's Office announced today that police had identified the bodies of four Swiss nationals aged between 16 and 21 – two girls and two boys – and handed them over to their families. Their names were not released.
On Friday, authorities were able to identify only one victim – underage Italian international golfer Emanuele Galepini.
According to two people familiar with the investigation, some of the victims may be under 16 years old, Reuters reports.
Locals say the bar was popular with young people, and the Swiss government said it was likely that many of the victims were young people. In Switzerland, the drinking age for beer and wine is 16.
One of the bar's two owners, Jacques Moretti, told the Tribune de Genève newspaper that Le Constellation had been inspected three times over ten years and that everything was done in accordance with the rules.
Stefan Ganzer, head of security in Vale, said the investigation will determine whether the bar passed annual building inspections, but also that the city has not expressed concerns or reported deficiencies to the canton.
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