A teenager who was injured in the fire that tore through a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana during New Year celebrations has died in hospital, raising the death toll from the blaze to 41.
The Wallis canton’s public prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said in a brief statement on Sunday: “An 18-year-old Swiss national died at a hospital in Zurich on January 31. The death toll from the fire at Le Constellation bar on January 1 2026 has now risen to 41.”
Pilloud said her office, which is leading the investigation into the incident, would provide no additional details at this stage.
Those who lost their lives in the disaster were aged between 14 and 39, with the majority being teenagers.
Only four victims were older than 24. A further 115 people were injured, most of whom are still receiving treatment in hospitals.
The victims included 23 Swiss nationals, among them one French-Swiss dual national, and 18 foreign nationals.
The foreign victims comprised eight French citizens, including a French-British-Israeli girl; six Italian teenagers, including one Italian-Emirati dual national; as well as one Belgian, one Portuguese, one Romanian and one Turkish national.
Public prosecutors believe the fire was triggered when partygoers lifted champagne bottles fitted with sparklers too close to sound insulation foam lining the ceiling of the bar’s basement.
Four individuals are under criminal investigation: the bar’s co-owners, the head of public safety for the Crans-Montana municipality and a former Crans-Montana fire safety officer.
In the aftermath of the blaze, critically injured victims were airlifted to hospitals and specialist burns units across Switzerland and in four other European countries.
Switzerland’s federal office for civil protection said on Friday that, as of Monday, 44 patients were being treated abroad – 18 in France, 12 in Italy, eight in Germany and six in Belgium.
The Wallis health ministry said that 37 patients remained hospitalised in Switzerland as of Monday.
Officials said the situation remains fluid, with patients being transferred between hospitals for different phases of treatment and some requiring readmission. Several patients are still in intensive care.
