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Survivors of the devastating nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units in various European nations, while investigators report many of the dead were so badly burned that naming the victims could take an extended period.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 injured when the blaze ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and underground club.

“The first objective is to assign names to all the victims,” stated local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Families of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their family members and diplomatic missions scrambled to determine if their citizens were among those involved in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental charts and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so distressing and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the fire. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, according to news agencies.

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

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had offered his country’s help 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 diplomatic representative 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 “surprised” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a radio station.

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

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and additional individuals remained missing. Australia has said one of its nationals was hurt.

Families in Anguish

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to share images of those unaccounted for.

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 told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from 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 explained. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. 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 badly burned patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and moved to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be protracted and demanding, lasting many weeks or even months.”