Swiss Crans-Montana fire: Tears and stunned silence at vigil for victims
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Flowers are laid down at an impromptu memorial to those killed at a bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Jan 1.
PHOTO: TIL BURGY/NYTIMES
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CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland – Hundreds gathered in silence in the freezing night in Crans-Montana on the evening of Jan 1, laying flowers and lighting candles to remember those killed and injured in a horrific blaze
Around 40 people died and more than 100 were injured in the blaze that ripped through the crowded Le Constellation bar at around 1.30am local time (8.30am Singapore time).
Many of those who came to mourn the tragedy stood, motionless, overlooking the scene. People spoke in whispers, if at all.
“I wasn’t there myself, but I had many friends and relatives who were,” said one young mourner, who gave his surname as Orosstevic.
“Some died, others are in the hospital. About 10,” he told AFP.
“They’re mostly friends of my parents, but I know them very well.”
Mr Orosstevic said he had bought flowers to lay down “as a small tribute”.
“May they rest in peace.”
Shock
Nearby, some groups of friends hugged, sobbing, distraught. Men stood looking straight ahead with stunned, damp eyes.
Mr Mathys, from neighbouring Chermignon-d’en-Bas, told AFP at the vigil: “It’s a bar where we meet up with lots of friends, really, almost every weekend. It was one of the only weekends we weren’t there.
“We thought it was just a small fire – but when we got there, it was war. That’s the only word I can use to describe it: the apocalypse. It was terrible.”
Mr Paulo Martins, a French citizen who has lived in the area for 24 years, told AFP: “My son could very well have been in there. He wasn’t far away.
“He was with his girlfriend; they were supposed to go in. And in the end, they didn’t make it there,” he said.
“When he came home, he was really in shock.”
Mourners gather at an impromptu memorial on Jan 1.
PHOTO: TIL BURGY/NYTIMES
A friend of his 17-year-old son has been transferred for treatment in Germany, with 30 per cent of his body covered in burns.
Mourners laid tributes on a table temporarily put up at the entrance of the road leading down to the bar, which was blocked from view by white screens.
Two police officers stood guard at the cordon.
A steady stream of people brought candles and flowers; sometimes a single rose, sometimes a large bunch.
As the table filled, people began to place individual candles on the frozen ground.
Around 40 people died and more than 100 were injured in the blaze at Le Constellation bar.
PHOTO: TIL BURGY/NYTIMES
Several groups of young men looked utterly inconsolable. They held one and other and looked each other in their eyes, grasping for words.
Some of those gathered could barely voice their emotions.
A couple of young women stood for a long time holding a bunch of flowers, mustering the courage to venture through the crowd towards the table.
“There are dead and injured, and we have someone close to us who is still missing. We have no news of them,” said one of the women, who did not want to be identified.
Mourners gather at an impromptu memorial on Jan 1.
PHOTO: TIL BURGY/NYTIMES
After laying their flowers, they walked away, arm in arm.
“They were young people, and people we know,” said another woman, who declined to give her name.
Asked whether she knew what happened to them, she said: “Some, no. Some, we’re still waiting.”
Pain
The Christmas lights are still twinkling in the town, but several bars closed their doors out of respect.
Earlier, at the Montana-Station church, a mass remembered those who had lost their lives.
The explosion took place at around 1.30am on Jan 1 in a bar popular with tourists, as revellers rang in the new year.
PHOTOS: OSIOSINT1/X
Sombre organ music played. People gathered outside afterwards collecting their thoughts, some walking away with tears streaming from their eyes.
“There was a lot of people, it was very solemn, and there was a beautiful sermon about hope. At least let us have that: hope,” said local churchgoer Jean-Claude.
One young man, who could barely speak due to the emotion, said: “We just knew a lot of friends of friends who were there. And we pay them respect.”
“It could have been my son, quite simply,” said one mourner, Ms Mina, welling up with tears.
“Last night, it was just a coincidence that he wasn’t there,” she told AFP.
“There is a waitress he knows, she serves him all the time, he’s very friendly with her and unfortunately, she’s gone.”
Ms Veronica, an elderly Italian mourner, who has lived in Crans-Montana for 40 years, wiped a stream of tears from her cheeks.
She said: “The pain of others is everyone’s pain.” AFP
