Swiss bar owner quizzed by lawyers over fatal Crans-Montana inferno

Sion, Switzerland - Jacques Moretti, co-owner of the Swiss bar engulfed in a fatal blaze during New Year celebrations, was questioned on Feb 11 by lawyers representing victims’ families seeking answers on how many partygoers were allowed inside.

Moretti and his wife Jessica co-own Le Constellation in the ski resort of Crans-Montana, where a devastating fire killed 41 people and injured 115 others on Jan 1.

The French couple made no comment as they arrived hand-in-hand for the hearing in the nearby city of Sion.

The Morettis are under criminal investigation, facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

Jessica Moretti is due to be questioned on Feb 12.

“I hope answers will be provided. We hope to better understand what happened and establish responsibilities,” Mr Nicolas Mattenberger, a lawyer representing victims’ families, told reporters outside.

Those killed were mostly teenagers, while most of the injured remain in various hospitals across Switzerland and Europe.

Most of those caught up in the inferno were Swiss, but a total of 19 nationalities were among those killed and wounded, including nine French and six Italian nationals.

Ms Leila Micheloud, the mother of two daughters injured in the fire, attended Feb 11’s hearing.

“It’s a path to healing. We’re waiting for answers, the truth, for them to tell the truth; we’re not asking for anything more,” she told journalists.

“We’re in a battle. I have to be here.

“When you have two of your children who almost died, you’re not afraid of anything,” she added.

Morettis ‘empathetic’, ‘isolated’

The interviews “are intended to allow the lawyers for the civil parties to ask the questions they were unable to ask” during previous hearings, the Wallis canton’s public prosecutor’s office said on Feb 9.

The Morettis’ lawyer Yael Hayat told reporters outside that the hearings would be the first time the couple would be able to speak directly to the lawyers representing the victims and families.

“They are empathetic, but at the same time, they are isolated. It is also very difficult for them not to be able to express themselves directly, since the legal proceedings require that there be no contact,” Ms Hayat said.

Twenty of those killed in the fire were under 18, including the six Italian fatalities.

Mr Fabrizio Ventimiglia, an Italian lawyer, said he was “expecting important answers” not only on security at the bar but also on “the number of people present” when the fire broke out, and regarding “the sale of alcohol to minors”.

The Wallis public prosecutor’s office said on Feb 9 that around 50 orders and warrants had been issued in the case, and more than a dozen hearings conducted so far.

The case file “comprises nearly 2,000 pages and includes more than 8,500 physical documents; 263 civil parties have been identified and are represented by 74 lawyers,” it said.

In Crans-Montana, the makeshift memorial for victims of the blaze caught fire itself on Feb 8, due to candles left burning inside.

A white, igloo-like tarpaulin had been erected over the candles, flowers and messages to shield them from the snow and winter weather.

Candles have now been banned from the memorial, while the book of condolence, saved from the fire, is now inside a nearby chapel.

The Swiss government decided on Feb 11 that the victims and their families should receive a “solidarity contribution” from the state, to help meet their costs. AFP