In the earliest hours of 2026, a fire ignited in the ceiling of a basement bar in a ski resort town in Switzerland as young partygoers danced. The fire, which was likely caused by a shower of sparks sent up by a small firework topping a champagne bottle, quickly engulfed the room, killing 40 and injuring 119.
The Constellation Bar, popular amongst teens and young adults because of its cheap drinks, was just a few minutes’ walk from the ski resort of Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps. Thus, the New Year’s celebration saw the bar crowded with young people, most of them teenagers, including some as young as 15.
Videos show multiple champagne bottles topped with a finger-sized firework, known in French as “feux de Bengale,” sending showers of sparks high into the air, where they ignited low-hanging soundproof foam. The fire spread quickly along flammable ceiling insulation, rapidly creating a nightmarish inferno.
The panic in the bar, however, was not immediate. A video on social media showed people still dancing to the pounding music even as flames roared overhead. Many people can be spotted filming the fire as one man tried to beat it out with a t-shirt. By the time it became apparent that it was an emergency, it was too late for many to escape.
17-year-old Nestor Fischer, who was outside of the bar at the time of the incident, saw smoke and ran to the window to help. After ripping it off, he guided the injured out of the bar using his cellphone flashlight. Many of the people were left with no hair, skin burned off and “completely disfigured,” as he told the New York Times.
A total of 40 people died in the blaze, and another 119 were injured, including dozens of critically injured people who were flown to hospitals across Switzerland, France and Italy. Investigators suspect that a flashover occurred, a phenomenon in which an enclosed fire will ignite everything in the space it’s in at the same time, including people. Flashovers can reach such high temperatures that a fully equipped firefighter would be unable to survive. Local fire chief Captain David Vocat told the New York Times, “You cannot imagine seeing all those young people piled up in the bar, dead.”
The devastation of the horrific fire shrouded the resort in the following days, as a team of over thirty people attempted to identify the charred bodies. Parents could be seen walking up and down the streets in agony as they tried to find their missing teenage sons and daughters. Most don’t know what hospital their child was brought to, or even what country they may be in. All are hoping that their children are still alive.
In response to the tragedy, hundreds of skiers gathered to lay candles and flowers near the sight of the fire to honor those who died. The ongoing investigation of the fire showed that the bar hasn’t received mandatory safety inspections in six years. The owners of the bar are suspected of negligence, though it is still unclear if they will be criminally charged.
The tragic fire stresses the importance of safety and accountability. The Orange sends its deepest condolences to the victims and their families, including those who still wait for answers.
