Families of the victims of a fire at a Swiss bar on New Year's Eve have expressed shock after officials admitted the venue had not undergone safety checks for five years.
Romain Jordan, who represents some of the families, stated that the staggering number of breaches and shortcomings in the inspections raises the question of whether the municipality should be investigated with even greater urgency.
Other lawyers are also urging officials to take responsibility for the disaster at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana where 40 people died, and 116 were injured. Prosecutors believe the fire ignited when champagne bottles with sparklers attached set light to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling.
The two bar managers have been placed under criminal investigation but remain free. French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti are suspected of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
In their first statement since the fire, they expressed that they were devastated and pledged full co-operation with the investigation.
Venues like Le Constellation should be assessed annually, yet the mayor of Crans-Montana, Nicolas Feraud, stated he could not explain why it hadn't been checked in so long. We regret that - we owe it to the families and we will accept the responsibility, he said, adding that sparklers will henceforth be banned in local establishments.
Sadly, most of the victims were young, with eight under the age of 16. Many injured individuals are coping with severe burns and are receiving treatment in Switzerland and other European nations. The funerals of several victims have taken place amidst ongoing grief in the community.
Under Switzerland's political structure, safety regulations are set by cantons but must be applied by local authorities, leading to a complex web of responsibility that the recent tragedy has laid bare.
