Swiss authorities have begun the painstaking process of identifying victims after a devastating fire swept through a crowded bar during a New Year’s Eve party in the alpine resort of Crans-Montana, killing around 40 people. The blaze, which engulfed the Le Constellation bar, left bodies so badly burned that officials warned it could take days before all victims are formally named. Investigators said on Friday that the scale of the tragedy and the condition of the remains have turned identification into a complex forensic operation, even by Switzerland’s high emergency-response standards.

The fire injured at least 115 people, many of them seriously, according to local officials. Most of the victims were young revellers attending celebrations marking the transition into the new year. Parents of missing youths issued public pleas for information as foreign embassies sought to determine whether their nationals were among those caught in what authorities described as one of the deadliest incidents in modern Swiss history.

“Nothing Can Be Told”

Local leaders stressed that accuracy would take precedence over speed. “The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,” Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud told a press conference on Thursday evening, adding that the process “could take days.” Mathias Reynard, head of government of the canton of Valais, said specialists were relying on dental records and DNA samples to confirm identities. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100 percent sure,” he said.

Police said some bodies remained inside the cordoned-off bar more than 24 hours after the blaze, underscoring the severity of the destruction. Authorities pledged to work around the clock until every victim was identified, a task complicated by the number of casualties and the intensity of the fire.

Cause Still Unclear

The cause of the blaze has not been established. Swiss authorities said there were no indications of an attack and that the fire appeared to be accidental. Survivor accounts and footage shared on social media suggested the ceiling of the bar’s basement may have ignited after sparkling candles were placed too close to flammable materials. Officials cautioned that such reports remain unverified and are part of an ongoing investigation.

Crans-Montana, known internationally for skiing and golf, has a permanent population far smaller than the number of visitors it hosts during peak winter season. The sudden loss has therefore rippled through a close-knit community. Hundreds of residents gathered in silence near the scene on Thursday night, leaving flowers and lighting candles at a makeshift memorial near the police cordon.

Community in Mourning

Residents described shock and disbelief. “You think you’re safe here but this can happen anywhere. They were people like us,” said Piermarco Pani, an 18-year-old local who knew the bar well. Teenagers who narrowly avoided the venue spoke openly of survivor’s guilt. Kean Sarbach, 17, said he had spoken to four people who escaped, some with burns, who told him flames spread rapidly. Elisa Sousa, also 17, said she had planned to attend but stayed with family instead. “And honestly, I’ll need thank my mother a hundred times for not letting me go,” she said. “Because God knows where I’d be now.”