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Survivors of the devastating bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in specialized trauma centers across Europe, while investigators report many of the deceased were so badly burned that naming the victims could take days or weeks.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

Approximately 40 people were killed and 115 hurt when the inferno ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and underground club.

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

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin remarked at a news conference.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was exceptionally difficult. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and foreign embassies worked urgently to find out if their citizens were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental charts and DNA samples for the task. “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 completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Even with one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

A significant number 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 help as clinics in Paris and Lyon took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are missing and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but another nation has put the death toll at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “taken aback” by the latter figure. “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 named. 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 nine French citizens were among the injured and additional individuals remained missing. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Families in Anguish

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using online platforms 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 just avoided 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 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 wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend managed to get 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 ranging in age from 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and moved to the surgery or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be protracted and demanding, lasting several weeks or even months.”