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Survivors of the devastating nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in special burns units in various European nations, while authorities report many of the dead were so severely injured that naming the victims could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 injured when the inferno engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and underground club.

“Our primary goal is to put names to all the bodies,” said Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was exceptionally difficult. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their family members and diplomatic missions worked urgently to determine if their citizens were among those involved in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental charts and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and delicate that no detail can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

Many more of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s assistance 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 some of their nationals are missing and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the death toll at 47, based on early data.

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 all but five of the injured had now been named. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians 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 unaccounted for. Australia has said one of its nationals was hurt.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend narrowly missed being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was deeply traumatized,” Martins said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. 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 badly burned patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and moved to the surgery or to intensive care units,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be protracted and demanding, lasting many weeks or even months.”