A devastating inferno turned a joyous New Year’s celebration into a scene of unimaginable loss at a popular Swiss alpine bar.

In the early hours of Thursday, a fire ripped through Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, claiming about 40 lives and leaving 115 others injured, many in critical condition, as the Washington Times reports.

The upscale resort town, renowned for hosting World Cup ski races and the European Masters golf tournament, was hosting a packed event at the bar when disaster struck.

Unfolding Horror at Crans-Montana Celebration

Overnight, as revelers welcomed the new year, the crowded venue became a deathtrap, with witnesses describing scenes akin to a horror film.

Survivors recounted a chaotic escape, with some smashing windows to flee the suffocating smoke and flames, while others were caught in a deadly crowd surge up a narrow staircase from a basement nightclub.

About 20 desperate individuals were seen scrambling from the blaze, a grim reminder that even in picturesque locales, safety can’t be taken for granted in our over-regulated, yet under-secured, modern venues.

Witness Accounts Paint Grim Picture

Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old Parisian who survived the ordeal, described “total chaos” inside the bar, a stark contrast to the progressive narrative that everything is always under control at such events.

“I am still alive and it’s just stuff,” Clavier told reporters, adding, “I’m still in shock.” His words cut through the noise of bureaucratic platitudes, reminding us that human life trumps material loss every time.

Clavier witnessed waitresses carrying champagne with sparklers, though he didn’t see the fire’s origin, while others reported a bartender lifting a colleague with a lit candle in a bottle, sparking flames that engulfed a wooden ceiling.

Authorities Scramble for Answers

Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler noted that “several tens of people” were presumed killed, a vague tally that underscores the tragedy’s scale while investigations lag.

“That will take time and for the time being, it is premature to give you a more precise figure,” Gisler said, admitting the community is “devastated.” If only the same urgency applied to preventing such disasters before they happen, rather than mourning after.

Authorities, including Valais Canton attorney general Beatrice Pilloud, have ruled out any deliberate attack, focusing instead on potential accidental causes like a flashover or backdraft from combustible gases.

Community, Local Leaders Respond

The regional hospital’s ICU and operating theaters are at capacity, per Mathias Reynard, head of the Valais Canton government, while locals are urged to tread carefully on ski slopes amid strained medical resources.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, on his first day in office, postponed his traditional New Year’s address out of respect, a rare moment of decorum in a world often obsessed with performative virtue over genuine empathy.

Exactly 25 years after a similar New Year’s tragedy in Volendam, Netherlands, this fire serves as a sobering lesson that safety must override the modern obsession with unchecked revelry—lives depend on it.