Italy’s government said it would not return its ambassador to Switzerland until a joint investigative team was established over the Swiss bar fire that killed 40 people, including six Italians.
On January 24th, Italy said it had recalled its ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, in protest after learning that the bar’s co-owner had been released on bail the day before.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Cornado on Monday, the government said in a statement.
“It was decided to make the ambassador’s return to Switzerland conditional on the start of effective cooperation between the judicial authorities of the two states and on the immediate establishment of a joint investigative team so that responsibility for the Crans-Montana massacre of January 1st, 2026, can be determined without further delay,” read the statement.
Six young Italians were killed in the blaze at the Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana, which caught fire early January 1st as partygoers celebrated.
The owners, French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti, face manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence charges.
Moretti was released on bail of 200,000 francs (216,748 euros).
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Earlier this month, Meloni said that Rome’s public prosecutor had opened a file on the case, while vowing justice for Italian victims.
Prosecutors believe the fire started when revellers raised champagne bottles with sparklers attached close to sound insulation foam on the ceiling of the bar’s basement level.
