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Survivors of the catastrophic bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while authorities say many of the dead were so badly burned that identification could take days or weeks.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“The first objective is to assign names to all the victims,” stated local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he outlined the devastating toll. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives tragically ended, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a press briefing.

Gruelling Identification Process

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Families of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their family members and foreign embassies scrambled to determine if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to strike the country in recent memory.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Even with one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the fire. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, according to news agencies.

Many more of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the death toll at 47, based on early data.

A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “taken aback” by the higher number. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a radio station.

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been named. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Three Italians were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and eight others remained unaccounted for. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using online platforms to circulate photos of those unaccounted for.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was really in shock,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary barriers, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and moved to the surgery or to specialised beds,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even many months.”