A woman walks in the early morning in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Saturday, January 3, 2026. BAZ RATNER / AP
Swiss authorities said on Saturday, January 3, they have launched a criminal investigation into the managers of a bar in a ski resort town where a fire killed dozens on New Year's Eve. French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti owned and managed the bar called Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, which was crammed with young New Year's revellers when a blaze began at around 1:30 am on Thursday. Forty people were killed and 119 injured, most of them seriously, according to the latest toll.
"A criminal investigation was opened last night against the two managers of the bar," police and the public prosecutor's office in the southwestern Swiss canton of Valais said in a statement. "They are charged with manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence." The authorities recalled that "the presumption of innocence applies until a final conviction is handed down."
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