According to The Telegraph, the fire started in a crowded basement, the fire quickly engulfed the entire room. About this also writes BFMTV with reference to eyewitnesses. According to the latest information, the fire may have been caused by a Bengal fire. Media interlocutors said that they saw a woman being carried on her shoulders and she shook a bottle with burning Bengal fire, after which the flames immediately spread to the ceiling.
There were about 200 people in the bar at the time of the fire, mostly young people aged 15-20. Many of them were trapped due to the rapid spread of the fire and possibly insufficient emergency exits. People tried to escape by breaking windows. Parents ran to the bar to find their children.
BFMTV with reference to the prosecutor of the canton of Valais Beatrice Pilu noted: there is no reason to believe that the emergency occurred as a result of deliberate actions. The channel also reports that among the victims there are citizens of France. The owners of the institution, according to his information, are Frenchmen, natives of Corsica, who own another bar near the burned.
Among the dead and injured, authorities said, there are likely to be foreign tourists, including Britons. Identification of the bodies is difficult because of severe burns. More than 100 people have been taken to hospitals, many in serious condition. Crisis centers have already been deployed to support the families of the victims.
The resort of Crans-Montana, located 40 km from the Matterhorn mountain, has declared a state of emergency.
