[HIGHTECHDUDE]

Indoor pyrotechnics... who could have guessed anything bad could happen?

[kellyhound]

Swiss open criminal case against managers of ski resort bar after deadly fire.

The blaze at Le Constellation in Crans-Montana on New Year's Eve injured 119 other people, officials have said. With many of the injured identified, families now face an agonising wait for information about those still missing.

The bodies of two Swiss women aged 21 and 16, and two Swiss men aged 18 and 16 were the first to be indentified and returned to their families, police said earlier.

The French managers of Le Constellation are suspected of having committed homicide by negligence, causing bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, the prosecutors' office in the canton of Valais said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.

Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin called it "one of the worst tragedies" experienced by the country.

Further details about the identified victims, including names, have not been released.

On Friday, police said 113 of the injured have been identified, and include 71 Swiss, 14 French and 11 Italian citizens.

Among the dead and missing are many teenagers. Le Constellation was a venue known to be popular with a younger crowd in the ski resort town, where the drinking age is 16.

A teenage golfer from Italy was the first death to be named, though Swiss and Italian officials have so far declined to confirm his death.

Bunches of flowers, soft toys and messages of love and hope are piled up outside the police barriers outside the bar.

On Saturday, families were being directed to a conference centre just outside Crans. Members of the Italian Civil Protection team met people there, together with Italy's ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado.

Ambassador Cornado said the identification process was continuing on Saturday and should be completed by Sunday afternoon.

The slow process is because of the severity of the burns many of the victims suffered, the ambassador added.

The victims include 71 Swiss, 14 French, 11 Italians, 4 Serbs, a Bosnian, a Belgian, a Luxembourger, a Pole, and a Portuguese. The identities of 14 people are still unknown.

[ashshannon]

I think we may just need a "nightclub fires" megathread

[Noose]

75 seconds, that's how long it took from the initial fire to the whole place burning down. With just one exit, this was a disaster waiting to happen.

[Muertaluna]

Originally Posted by akham ↗

FFS. The place is on fire and those twats are dancing and filming the flames!

They are kids, the drinking age there is 16 for beer and wine and 18 for hard A. The majority of them are just kids. They probably did not even process that it was dangerous. It's terrible.

[darkmor]

a couple more infos have filtered through. first, many dead/burned were aged 14. second, there was a fire door right next to where the boys were filming. it was never locked execpt n that day, which is why many people didnt rush out.

[akham]

Originally Posted by Muertaluna ↗

They are kids, the drinking age there is 16 for beer and wine and 18 for hard A. The majority of them are just kids. They probably did not even process that it was dangerous. It's terrible.

Thank you for the additional information, which is helpful.

Even at 16 (or even 14 as some say) you would expect them to understand the danger, but if they are seriously intoxicated than that could make the difference I guess.

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

The French managers of Le Constellation are suspected of having committed homicide by negligence, causing bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, the prosecutors' office in the canton of Valais said in a statement.

Jacques Moretti, 49, bought the bar with his 40-year-old wife Jessica Moretti in 2015. He did most of the renovations. They are suspected of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson/causing a fire.

Jacques Moretti is no stranger to the justice system as the bar owner is a known pimp who had served time in prison in the southeast of France.

He is known for pimping cases dating back some twenty years, as well as for a kidnapping and confinement case.

The Corsican-born man was imprisoned in Savoie in 2005, and was involved in cases of pimping, fraud, kidnapping and false imprisonment.

Since then, he has supposedly kept a low profile.

In Crans-Montana, he owns three businesses – two bars, including Le Constellation and a restaurant, Le Vieux Chalet, which he completely renovated last year.

The 49-year-old pimp was reportedly behind a DIY reno that narrowed the fire escape stairs in the basement of Le Constellation.

The staircase, said to be the only way out of the alpine bar’s basement club, was almost halved in width during a renovation ten years ago.

On the night of the “flashover” fire, no more than three people could stand alongside each other on the stairs at any one time, significantly slowing their escape.

Ms Moretti, who suffered a burned arm in the blaze, is the daughter of Jean-Paul Maric, a senior fire chief in Cannes, on the French Riviera.

And her uncle is Jean-Pierre Maric, president of the nearby Auribeau-sur-Siagne forest fire-fighting committee.

Mr Moretti has claimed his bar “followed all safety regulations”, despite only being inspected “three times in ten years” by health and safety officials.

Article 8 of the local fire prevention code states that inspections must take place “every year in buildings open to the public or presenting special risks”.

It comes as two ex-employees of the bar claimed that fire extinguishers were often locked away and the emergency exit was also often bolted shut.

Former staff told that fire safety training at Le Constellation had been “dicey”.

[akham]

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

Jacques Moretti, 49, bought the bar with his 40-year-old wife Jessica Moretti in 2015....

Kelly, you have a higher news output than some mainstream media outlets.

[darkmor]

so, no more videos? thats it? i dont believe it