Swiss ski bar not inspected for five years before deadly fire, mayor says

The Swiss bar that was the scene of a fire that killed 40 people and injured 116 hadn’t undergone safety checks for five years, authorities say.

The mayor of Crans-Montana, Nicolas Feraud, told a Tuesday press conference that he could not explain why the La Constellation bar hadn’t been checked in so long, but that the council was “profoundly sorry”.

“We regret that – we owe it to the families and we will accept the responsibility,” he said.

He added that sparklers – which are believed to have caused the fire – will be banned in local venues. Local authorities will now bring in an external contractor to inspect and audit all 128 venues in the area.

Feraud conceded there was a team of five people inspecting more than 10,000 buildings – and explained that in 2016, four village councils had merged to become a larger authority: Crans Montana.

Taking repeated questions on why the bar had not been checked in so long, Feraud said: “I have no answer for you today.”

“We’re profoundly sorry about that and I know how hard that will be for the families.”

“I’m not resigning, no, and I don’t want to,” he later added.

He said it would be “down to the judges to know whether we’ll be part of this case or not”, referring to the criminal investigation that has been opened by Swiss prosecutors.