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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 specialized trauma centers across Europe, while investigators report many of the dead were so severely injured that identification could take an extended period.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

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

“The first objective is to put names to all the bodies,” stated local official Nicolas Féraud.

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

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and foreign embassies worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike modern Switzerland.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he said.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the fire. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

Many more of the injured were flown 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 help 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 ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official said 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 receiving treatment. Some victims were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and additional individuals remained missing. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to share images of those unaccounted for.

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 really in shock,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary barriers, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [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. Nothing. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend managed to get 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 university hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most between 16 to 26.

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