A bar in Switzerland where 40 people died in a fire on New Year's Eve has not undergone any annual safety inspections since 2019, the mayor of the Crans-Montana ski resort, Nicolas Ferro, said.
Swiss authorities are searching for explanations for the cause of the fire that engulfed the Le Constellation bar in the early hours of January 1. Most of the victims were teenagers.
"We are deeply sorry. We had no information that the controls were not carried out as planned," Fero told reporters, adding that bars in the town should undergo such inspections every year.
Prosecutors, Reuters reports, said the fire was likely caused by spark plugs that ignited the ceiling in the basement of the bar, which was lined with foam material used for soundproofing.
A video from the 2019/2020 New Year's Eve party, released by Swiss television, shows guests carrying similar spray bottles, while a waiter warns: "Watch out for the foam!"
Reuters was unable to verify the footage. Ferro said his team was not aware that such parties had been held at the facility before.
Fero stated that "Le Constellation" passed its last inspection in 2019. The soundproofing foam on the ceiling was considered acceptable at the time, and due to the size of the building, the installation of a fire alarm was not mandatory.
"These soundproofing panels were never inspected, because our security officers, apparently, did not consider it necessary," Fero said.
He added that the law does not oblige authorities to check such materials, but that "the courts will have to determine whether it should have been done anyway."
Authorities are investigating two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes including manslaughter. Police had previously said the circumstances did not currently warrant their arrest and that there was no risk of flight, Reuters reported.
Fero said authorities had closed another establishment run by the same couple, and that sprinklers, believed to have caused the fire, were now banned from all catering establishments in the city. Security services would immediately carry out additional checks, he added.
In addition to the 40 deaths, at least 116 people were injured. The large number of victims raised questions about whether the bar was overcrowded.
Fero said the facility's maximum capacity was 200 people, with evacuation exits designed for 100 people on each of the two levels. He said he did not know whether the exit in the lower part of the bar was operational that night and that the investigation would determine that.
Inspections were conducted at the bar in 2016 and 2018, authorities said. Before that, the building where the bar is located belonged to another municipality, before the formation of Crans-Montana in 2017, Ferro said.
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