Crans-Montana fire: Second safety official charged in Swiss bar blaze probe
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People walk past the Le Constellation bar following a deadly fire during a New Year's Eve party, in Crans-Montana.
PHOTO: REUTERS
GENEVA – Prosecutors investigating the New Year bar inferno
The French couple who owned the establishment that went up in flames early on Jan 1 were initially the only ones targeted by a criminal probe in the tragedy, which also left 116 people injured – most of them teenagers.
But since Jan 28, the investigation has expanded to include two security officials in Crans-Montana, where the local authorities sparked outrage earlier in January when they revealed that the required annual safety check of the Le Constellation bar had not been carried out since 2019.
Public prosecutors believe the fire started when revellers raised champagne bottles with sparklers attached too close to sound insulation foam on the bar basement ceiling.
The municipality’s current head of public safety is due to be questioned, as a defendant, by public prosecutors in the southwestern Swiss canton of Wallis on Feb 6, according to a source close to the case who did not wish to be named.
A former Crans-Montana fire safety officer is also due to be questioned as a defendant on Feb 9, his lawyer David Aioutz told AFP on Jan 29, confirming reports.
The public prosecutor’s office has refused to comment.
The bar owners Jacques and Jessica Moretti, who are facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, were due to be questioned again in the case on Feb 11 and 12 respectively, according to official documents seen by AFP.
Jacques Moretti was held in preventive custody for nearly two weeks, before being released on bail
The investigations under way will aim to shed light on the exact circumstances of the fire, the owners’ compliance with regulations and the potential criminal responsibility of local authorities.
In an order dated Jan 27 and seen by AFP, the Wallis public prosecutor’s office rejected a request by Crans-Montana to be recognised as a party to the criminal proceedings. AFP
