The mayor of a Swiss village where 40 people died and 119 suffered severe burns after an inferno burned through a ski bar on New Year’s Day has admitted that the party venue had not had any safety checks for five years.
Nicolas Feraud told a press conference on Tuesday that the the council ‘immediately’ wanted to be transparent when they realised that Le Contellation bar in Crans-Montana had not been checked for five years.
He added that there is a team of just five people who do ‘immense work’ and carry out checks in the area, looking after more than 10,000 buildings, including restaurants and hotels.
‘We regret that – we owe it to the families and we will accept the responsibility.’
He added that the local council are looking at why this happened, which will include a full audit of all venues in the area and ensure more checks are carried out.