Several people have been killed and others injured after a blaze ripped through a crowded bar in the luxury Alpine ski resort town of Crans Montana, Swiss police have said.
“The fire started around 1:30 am [00:30 GMT] this morning in a bar called ‘Le Constellation,'” as revellers rang in the new year, police spokesperson Gaetan Lathion said on Thursday.
“More than a hundred people were in the building, and we are seeing many injured and many dead,” he added.
According to Al Jazeera,the police declined to confirm the number of casualties, but said many people were being treated for burns.
Citing police, Sky News reported that at least 10 people had died, with some local media saying the figure may be higher.
Earlier media reports said there had been an explosion, but a police statement called the blaze “a fire of undetermined origin”.
Images published by Swiss media showed a building in flames, and emergency services nearby.
“A major emergency response is underway,” the police statement said, “A large contingent of police, firefighters, and rescue workers immediately went to the scene to assist the numerous victims.”
A medical source told national broadcaster RTS that hospitals in French-speaking Switzerland were overwhelmed with burn victims in the aftermath of the blaze.
Several hours after the blast, an AFP photographer on scene saw a number of ambulances on the road from Crans Montana.
Crans Montana is situated in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the Matterhorn.
