Major Casualties from New Year’s Eve Explosion at Swiss Bar: Area Under State of Emergency, ICUs at Full Capacity
An explosion ripped through a bar in Crans-Montana, Valais, southern Switzerland on January 1. Swiss police stated the same day that dozens of people had been killed and around a hundred injured in the incident, with most of the wounded in critical condition. The dead and injured may include foreign nationals.
No-Fly Zone Established, ICUs Reached Maximum Capacity
According to RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse), the area where the bar is located was completely cordoned off to the public following the explosion, and a no-fly zone was imposed over Crans-Montana. Citing sources from the Valais security authorities, Reuters reported that intensive care units at local hospitals had reached full capacity, and the injured were being transferred to other medical facilities for treatment.
Local officials told a press conference that the cause of the explosion and subsequent fire at the bar could not be determined yet, but investigators had ruled out the possibility of an attack. Earlier reports suggested that the death toll stood at around 40, but police said it was difficult to provide an exact figure for casualties at this stage.
On January 1, 2026, a fire broke out at a bar named Le Constellation during New Year celebrations in Crans-Montana, Valais, in the Swiss Alps, causing casualties. Photo shows police conducting on-site investigations. (Xinhua/AP)
Valais Placed Under State of Emergency
Beatriz Piu, Attorney General of Valais, said that it could not be ruled out that foreign nationals were among the dead and injured, and local authorities were working to identify the victims. Stéphane Ganzel, the Valais official in charge of security and sports institutions, stated that in light of the severity of the incident, Valais had been placed under a state of emergency since the morning of January 1.
A witness told RTS that he was woken up by a loud blast at the time of the incident, adding, “That sound was nothing like fireworks.”
Alain Berset, President of the Swiss Confederation, postponed his New Year’s address originally scheduled for noon that day and extended his condolences and mourning to the families of the victims.
The incident site is located in the heart of the Swiss Alps, approximately 40 kilometers north of the Matterhorn—one of the highest peaks in the Alps—and around 130 kilometers away from Zurich.
The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Chinese Embassy in Switzerland told Xinhua reporters that no information about Chinese nationals being killed or injured in the incident had been received so far.
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