A big fire happened early on New Year's Day. It was at a popular bar in Crans-Montana. This is a ski resort in Switzerland. The fire killed about 40 to 50 people. Many others were hurt. About 100 to 115 people were injured badly. The fire burned "Le Constellation" bar. This happened in the Valais area. The country is now very sad. The start of the year is not happy.
The fire started around 1:30 AM. Many people were celebrating New Year's Eve. The exact reason is still being studied. Witnesses said a waiter was dancing. He held a champagne bottle with a sparkler. The sparkler hit the wooden ceiling. This started the fire quickly. The whole bar was in flames very fast. The bar could hold 300 people. Many young people were there.
The fire spread very fast. People tried hard to escape. They used one small stairs. Some broke windows to get out. Many helicopters and ambulances came. They took injured people to hospitals. Some went to France and Italy too.
The President of Switzerland is Guy Parmelin. He said it is a very bad tragedy. He declared five days of mourning. It is hard to identify the dead people. Firefighters are looking through the burned bar. This will take many weeks. Families are waiting for news. New Year's concerts are cancelled. The owners of the bar are safe. They are from France. The fire is thought to be an accident. The investigation continues.