A memorial to the 41 people killed and 115 horrifically burned in a New Year’s fire in a Swiss bar has gone up in flames.
Police opened a criminal enquiry in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana following the new inferno in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The makeshift memorial was a tent full of candles, flowers and messages of condolence to the victims of the fire in Le Constellation.
An initial enquiry suggests the live candles may have lit the tarpaulin surrounding the memorial.
‘It caught fire shortly before 6am on Sunday morning,’ said a spokesman for regional police in the Valais canton of Switzerland.
‘Thanks to the rapid intervention of the emergency services, the fire was quickly brought under control,’ he added.
No-one was injured in the memorial fire, but a number of ‘commemorative objects were damaged by the flames’.
A book of remembrance containing messages of condolence remained intact, said the spokesman.
Firefighters working to extinguish a fire at a memorial site in front of the bar ‘Le Constellation’ in tribute to the victims of the fatal fire that ravaged the bar on New Year’s Eve in Crans-Montana
Police opened a criminal enquiry in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana following the new inferno in the early hours of Sunday morning
The makeshift memorial was a tent full of candles, flowers and messages of condolence to the victims of the fire in Le Constellation
He confirmed that ‘an investigation’ had been opened into the cause of the blaze, saying: ‘According to initial reports, the fire started near the candles placed on a table in the centre of the memorial. At this stage, third-party involvement can be ruled out.’
The fire in the Constellation on January 1st is thought to have started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to the basement ceiling, igniting sound insulation foam.
The French couple who owned the bar – Jacques Moretti, 49, and his wife, Jessica Moretti, 40 – are facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
Both deny any wrongdoing, and are currently on bail as they await a possible trial.
Crans-Montana’s head of public safety and a fire safety officer are also under criminal investigation in connection with the blaze at the bar, which had failed to undergo compulsory annual fire inspections since 2019.
Responding to the latest fire, Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, whose 16-year-old son Arthur Brodard was among those who died at Le Constellation, expressed her sadness.
‘What to say?’, Ms Brodard-Sitre posted on Facebook. ‘It is the municipality’s responsibility to ensure a memorial that is secure.’
It comes after the boyfriend of the waitress killed in the New Year’s inferno revealed he spent an hour battling to save her life with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Cyane Panine, 24, died in the fire after she was filmed holding two champagne bottles fitted with sparklers while she sat on a colleague’s shoulders.
At a hearing into the tragedy, her boyfriend Jean-Marc G also disclosed the truth behind Panine’s relationship with the owners of the nightclub, who have previously blamed the waitress for the fire.
Jean-Marc, in his thirties, was described during the hearing as the ‘adoptive son’ of the bar’s owners.
While he did not officially work at Le Constellation, he carried out jobs there such as repairing the ice machine or the speakers, and managed one of the Moretti family’s restaurants.
When the fire broke out at the bar, Jean-Marc told the hearing that Jacques ‘shouted to him’ that he had found Panine and was trying to perform CPR to save her.
The blaze started when sparklers being held up in champagne bottles set light to the soundproof foam owners had installed on the basement ceiling
Photographs show the very first moments of the Swiss Le Constellation bar fire in Crans-Montana
He recounted how they spent the next hour trying to save her together, as he himself gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, before Jessica brought a doctor over.
Contrary to claims made by Panine’s family and her lawyer – who allege the waitress was exploited by the club’s owners – Jean-Marc said she was very close to the couple and spent Christmas at their residence.
The family are yet to comment on Jean-Marc’s claims, who had been dating Panine for a month before her death.
Moments before the inferno, Panine was filmed wearing a crash helmet from Dom Perignon, the Champagne brand, as she was lifted onto the shoulders of Mateo Lesguer, 23, the in-house DJ.
This was ‘at the request’ of Jessica Moretti, a witness claimed in an official report compiled by the Swiss authorities.
The Dom Perignon ‘motorcycle crash helmet’ covered Panine’s face completely with a black visor, meaning she could hardly see anything as she carried champagne bottles plugged with sparklers.
Mateo, who was wearing a carnival mask that also hid his face, tragically died alongside Panine in the bar.
Jessica Moretti, who is currently on bail and wearing an electronic tag, has confirmed the battery-powered helmet, which flashed from green to pink, was part of a stunt designed to sell champagne.
‘These are Dom Pérignon helmets,’ she said. ‘These helmets are delivered by our champagne supplier, and we wear them from time to time when we serve champagne.’
With her field of vision significantly reduced, Panine was unable to see the sparklers ‘touching the ceiling’, the official report reads.
Cyane Panine, 24, died in the fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana after she was filmed holding two champagne bottles fitted with sparklers as she sat on a colleague’s shoulders
The bar’s French owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are facing trial for multiple charges, including manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence
Some staff members at Le Constellation have claimed that the Morettis kept the emergency exit shut to stop people getting into the bar, while Italian media outlets have alleged that Jessica Moretti left the bar with the till when the fire broke out.
Under questioning, the Morettis have also said that employees had been responsible for locking the door.
In a letter to staff members, the couple have denied the ‘ignoble’ claims that they fled with the cash till when the blaze started, and have insisted that they ‘bear responsibility’ for the tragedy.
‘We bear this responsibility without trying in any way to pass it on to you,’ they wrote.
‘None of you should have to go through such an ordeal. You were under our protection and you will always be.’
‘One of the most ignoble [claims in the media] was about the immediate escape from the scene, with cash box in arm, while we were there, facing the chaos, terrified by those war-like scenes during that night of horror, trying to bring help, especially to some of you,’ the couple wrote.
‘We have been infinitely wounded by many of the calumnies that have been spread. At the same time, they have accentuated your pain and we deplore that. We won’t abandon you. We are bound by the same destiny and we will do everything in our power to help you.’
The investigations into both fires continues.