Initial investigations suggest the fire that tore through a Swiss ski resort bar New Year’s Eve started when “fountain candles” attached to Champagne bottles were carried aloft too close to the ceiling, the local prosecutor said on Friday.
“Everything suggests that the fire started from the burning candles, or ‘Bengal lights,’ that had been attached to Champagne bottles. These went too close to the ceiling. From there, a rapid, very rapid and widespread conflagration ensued,” prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud told a news conference.
The latest news came as investigators continued the painful task of identifying the at least 40 people killed at the party at Le Constellation bar in the upscale Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana.
This is exactly the first thing that popped into my mind when I heard what happened. I still clearly recall the WPRI news video of the fire mentioned in the Wikipedia article. That news crew had just shown up to report on the band that was playing, and they got clear footage of the nightmare. You could see bodies stacked up at the door as hundreds of people pushed to get out of the inferno… You can probably still find the video on smaller video sharing sites if you dare to go looking for it.