Crans-Montana fire: Belgian girl reported missing confirmed dead

A 17-year-old Belgian girl missing since the Crans-Montana fire has been identified among the deceased victims, the Belgian foreign office announced on Sunday.

“The Swiss authorities have confirmed to us that the young Belgian woman, who had been missing until now, is among the deceased victims. We express our condolences to the family and loved ones of the victim,” said FPS Foreign Affairs, reports RTBF and Belga.

The teenager from Waterloo in Walloon Brabant was in the ski resort’s Constellation bar on New Year's eve. Since the horrific blaze that left 40 dead and 119 injured, her family had no news of her.

Two other Belgians are among the injured. A young girl, also from Walloon Brabant, suffered burns but was discharged quickly from hospital. A young man with dual Belgian and Swiss nationality was also injured and has been evacuated to a Belgian hospital.

Investigators have identified the last 16 people who died in the bar fire, Valais cantonal police said. They included the 17-year-old Belgian girl, two Swiss girls aged 15, a Swiss woman aged 22, a Swiss and French woman aged 24, two Italian girls aged 16 and 15, an Italian boy aged 16, a 22-year-old Portuguese woman, two French women aged 33 and 26, two French men aged 23 and 20, two French teenage boys aged 17 and 14, and a 15-year-old girl with French, British, and Israeli nationalities.

Those previously identified were 10 Swiss nationals, two Italians, one person with Italian-Emirati citizenship, one Romanian, one person from France and one from Turkey, according to police.

A national day of mourning in Switzerland is planned on Friday. The catastrophe is one of the country's worst disasters in recent history. 

Evacuation of victims to Belgium

Seven victims of the deadly fire have been evacuated to specialised hospitals in Belgium by the Belgian First Aid and Support Team (B-FAST).

The medical transfers to burns units across the country followed a request for assistance via the European Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). A total of 35 seriously injured patients have been transferred to European hospitals.

One of the young victims is being treated at the Reine Astrid Military Hospital in Neder-Over-Heembeek, reports Bruzz, where the burns department is well equipped to care for patients with serious injuries.

Brussels nightclub New Year’s eve fire

While investigators believe the Crans-Montana fire was caused by fountain sparklers in champagne bottles held too close to the ceiling, a similar albeit non-fatal incident occurred at the Jeux d'Hiver nightclub in Bois de la Cambre on New Year's eve.

A quickly extinguished blaze was most likely due to fireworks in a bottle, according to a video published by RTL Info, reports RTBF.  It shows revellers waving an object strongly resembling a bottle of sparkling wine, on which fireworks have been placed. Amid loud cheering, confetti swirls down and a shower of real sparks shoots through the room.

Suddenly, the camera swings to the left and catches a piece of decoration hanging from the ceiling on fire. Fortunately, the fire was quickly extinguished “in about 10 seconds,” a witness told RTL Info.

Photo: (illustration only) Reine Astrid Military Hospital ©La Defence

This article was updated on Monday morning.