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Those who escaped of the catastrophic bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units across Europe, while investigators report many of the deceased were so badly burned that naming the victims could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

“The first objective is to put names to all the victims,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was exceptionally difficult. Families of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and foreign embassies scrambled to find out if their citizens were among those involved in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the fire. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

A significant number of the injured were flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are missing and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “surprised” by the higher number. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a radio station.

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been named. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and eight others remained unaccounted for. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to circulate photos of those unaccounted for.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was really in shock,” Martins said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary barriers, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and moved to the surgery or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even many months.”