Swiss Ski Resort Fire: Ice Fountains Likely Caused Deadly Blaze

Tragedy Strikes New Year's Celebration in Crans-Montana

A devastating fire that killed approximately 40 people and injured 115 others at a popular Swiss ski resort bar appears to have been caused by 'ice fountains' - sparklers attached to champagne bottles - according to new evidence and eyewitness accounts. The blaze erupted around 1:30 AM on January 1, 2026, at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, a renowned Alpine resort in the canton of Valais, Switzerland.

How the Fire Started

French television channel BFMTV published two photographs showing people holding champagne bottles with burning fountains, with one image clearly showing the ceiling above catching fire. The fire spread with terrifying speed, suggesting highly flammable materials were present in the ceiling structure. 'The beginning fire turned almost immediately into a firestorm,' according to local reports.

Single Exit Proved Deadly

The basement venue had only one staircase leading to the ground floor, creating a fatal bottleneck as approximately 300 partygoers tried to escape simultaneously. Stefan, a Dutch resident of Crans-Montana who was a regular at the bar, confirmed the dangerous layout: 'If you have to evacuate three hundred people via one staircase, that's very difficult. You don't know how it happened, how people reacted. There was panic, of course.'

Edmond Cocquyt from Ghent, Belgium, who was staying opposite the café, described the horrific scene: 'I saw corpses lying on the street. That was in front of my door and there I saw the white sheets of dead people and the aluminum blankets of people who had burns. There was total chaos.' He added, 'The worst was the screaming. The screaming of young girls in pain at the moment they were lifted onto stretchers. That screaming went through marrow and bone. And it lasted and lasted, hours on end.'

Medical Crisis and International Response

The scale of injuries has overwhelmed local medical facilities. At Lausanne University Hospital, 13 victims have burns covering more than 60% of their body surface. The three Dutch burn centers - in Beverwijk, Rotterdam, and Groningen - have offered to take in six patients from Switzerland. 'Because there are so many victims, it's already quickly the case that the capacity for medical care is overwhelmed,' said Eelke Bosma of the Groningen Burn Center. 'So we inventoried yesterday how many patients we could take over without endangering the acute capacity for Dutch healthcare.'

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that French hospitals would accept wounded victims, with at least six French nationals injured and eight still missing. Identification of victims has proven difficult as many were completely burned, requiring DNA and dental analysis.

Safety Questions and Investigation

The tragedy has raised serious questions about fire safety regulations in Swiss entertainment venues. Cocquyt noted the apparent regulatory failure: 'Switzerland sets high standards for everything. That they allowed something like this is quite bizarre. In Belgium, a basement café must always have two exits. Probably that's also the case in Switzerland but something went wrong.'

Investigators are examining whether the bar complied with fire safety regulations regarding ceiling materials, interior insulation, and emergency exits. The practice of serving champagne with fireworks appears to be relatively common in expensive Swiss establishments. 'Switzerland is incredibly expensive. So if you buy champagne per bottle at 200-300 euros, then you get some fireworks with it,' Cocquyt explained. 'And apparently that caused the fire.'

Historical Context and Community Impact

Crans-Montana is a prestigious ski resort formed through the merger of several municipalities in 2017, known for hosting World Cup skiing events and the Omega European Masters golf tournament. The fire represents one of Switzerland's worst peacetime disasters in recent history.

The tragedy has drawn parallels to other nightclub fires worldwide, including the 2001 Volendam café fire in the Netherlands that killed 14 people. Swiss authorities have declared five days of mourning, with flags flying at half-mast across the country as the investigation continues into what exactly went wrong at Le Constellation.