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Survivors of the catastrophic bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while authorities say many of the dead were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the blaze ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“Our primary goal is to assign names to all the bodies,” stated local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a disaster of unprecedented, terrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin remarked at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions worked urgently to determine if their citizens were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental charts and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so distressing and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Even with one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly became overwhelmed 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, according to news agencies.

A significant number 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 assistance 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 approximately 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the fatality count at 47, based on early data.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise 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 named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and additional individuals remained unaccounted for. Australia has said one of its nationals was hurt.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing.

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 evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been missing since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now covered 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 said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and moved to the operating theatre or to intensive care units,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even many months.”