Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Years celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)2026-01-01T06:41:23Z CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) A fire ripped through a bars New Year celebration in a Swiss Alpine resort less than two hours after midnight Thursday, with dozens of people feared dead and about 100 more injured, most seriously, police said.The Crans-Montana resort is best known as an international ski and golf venue, and overnight, its crowded Le Constellation bar morphed from a scene of revelry into the site of potentially one of Switzerlands worst tragedies. The interior building where a fire broke out leaving people dead and injured, during New Years celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Police Cantonale Valaisanne via AP) The interior building where a fire broke out leaving people dead and injured, during New Years celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Police Cantonale Valaisanne via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Several tens of people were presumed killed at the bar, Valais Canton police commander Frdric Gisler said during a news conference.Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families, but that will take time and for the time being, it is premature to give you a more precise figure, Gisler said, adding that the community is devastated. Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack, Pilloud said.An evening of celebration turns tragicHelicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said. Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that they were inside when they saw a barman carrying a barmaid on his shoulders. The barmaid was holding a lit candle in a bottle that set fire to the wooden ceiling. The flames quickly spread and collapsed the ceiling, they told the broadcaster. Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP) Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP) Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More One of the women described a crowd surge as people frantically tried to escape from a basement nightclub up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street. Officials described how the blaze likely triggered the release of combustible gases that ignited violently and caused what English-speaking firefighters call a flashover or backdraft.This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare, said Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government of the Valais Canton.The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Reynard said. Crans-Montana is less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Sierre, Switzerland, where 28 people, including many children, were killed when a bus from Belgium crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.Resort town sits in the heart of the Alps Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Years celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP) Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Years celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais regions snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit. The resort will host the best mens and womens downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan Cortina Olympics in February. The towns Crans-sur-Sierre golf club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course. The Swiss blaze on Thursday came 25 years after an inferno in the Dutch fishing town of Volendam on New Years Eve, which killed 14 people and injured more than 200 as they celebrated in a cafe.Swiss President Guy Parmelin said in a social media post that the governments thoughts go to the victims, to the injured and their relatives, to whom it addresses its sincere condolences. Flowers are laid in the area where a fire broke out leaving people dead and injured, during New Years celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Police Cantonale Valaisanne via AP) Flowers are laid in the area where a fire broke out leaving people dead and injured, during New Years celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Police Cantonale Valaisanne via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Thursday was Parmelins first day in office as the seven members of Switzerlands government take turns holding the presidency for one year. Out of respect for the families of the victims, he delayed a traditional New Years address to the nation meant to be broadcast Thursday afternoon, Swiss broadcasters SRF and RTS reported.___Dazio reported from Berlin and Leicester reported from Paris. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.__This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of the name of Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government of the Valais Canton. JAMEY KEATEN Keaten is the chief Associated Press reporter in Geneva. He previously was posted in Paris and has reported from Afghanistan, the Middle East, North Africa and across Europe. twitter STEFANIE DAZIO Dazio covers Northern Europe from Berlin for The Associated Press. She previously covered crime and criminal justice from Los Angeles.