As of February 25th, a total of 58 people are still in hospital following the deadly fire that engulfed a bar in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana during New Year celebrations.
Nearly eight weeks after the tragedy that killed 41 people and injured 115 others, just over half of those wounded in the fire are still hospitalised.
According to The National Network for Disaster Medicine, 21 injured people were still in Swiss hospitals, including 12 in Lausanne and eight in Zurich, two of whom are still in intensive care.
Nine others were in rehabilitation clinics, including eight in Sion, capita of Valais where Crans-Montana is situated.
A further 28 patients are still receiving treatment abroad: 14 in France, eight in Italy, four in Germany and two in Belgium. Those 28 include 11 Swiss nationals.
Le Constellation bar caught fire in the early hours of January 1st.
Those killed were mostly teenagers; 20 of them were minors.
Prosecutors believe the fire started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to the ceiling in the bar’s basement level, igniting the sound insulation foam.
The bar’s owners, French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are under criminal investigation, facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
Two others are also under criminal investigation: Crans-Montana’s current head of public safety and a former fire safety officer in the town.
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Meanwhile, former Swiss president Doris Leuthard will head the Beloved Foundation, set up in response to the “outpouring of solidarity” following the tragedy,
“The foundation’s primary goal is to provide financial assistance to the bereaved families of the deceased, all those injured, their directly-affected relatives,” plus the firefighters and first responders who dealt with the disaster, the Valais cantonal government said.
The foundation will also support eventual memorial projects.
Valais has put forward an initial 1 million Swiss francs out of a planned 10 million donation. In total, around 17 million francs have been pledged to the foundation.
