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Those who escaped of the devastating nightclub blaze in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units in various European nations, while investigators say many of the dead were so badly burned that identification could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

Approximately 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the inferno ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“Our primary goal is to assign names to all the bodies,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing.

Gruelling Identification Process

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Families of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and foreign embassies scrambled to find out if their citizens were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so distressing and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the fire. 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.

A significant number of the injured were transported to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said 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 a number of their citizens are missing and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “surprised” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a radio station.

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been identified. Several 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 eight others remained unaccounted for. Australia has said a citizen was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using online platforms to share images of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided 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 stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been missing since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary barriers, 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 haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and moved to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even many months.”