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Survivors of the devastating nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in special burns units in various European nations, while investigators say many of the deceased were so badly burned that identification could take an extended period.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

About 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the blaze ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

“The first objective is to put names to all the bodies,” stated Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the devastating toll. “Beyond these numbers are individuals, names, families, lives tragically ended, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was exceptionally difficult. Families of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their family members and foreign embassies scrambled to determine if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental records and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so distressing and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Even with one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

Many more of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had offered his country’s assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “taken aback” by the higher number. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet.

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been identified. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Some victims were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and eight others remained missing. Australia has said a citizen was injured.

Families in Anguish

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend narrowly missed being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was really in shock,” Martins said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and transferred to the surgery or to intensive care units,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even many months.”