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Survivors of the catastrophic nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units in various European nations, while investigators say many of the deceased were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

About 40 people were killed and 115 hurt when the blaze ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“Our primary goal is to put names to all the victims,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was exceptionally difficult. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and diplomatic missions worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental charts and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so distressing and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the fire. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

Many more of the injured were flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had offered his country’s assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are unaccounted for and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but another nation has put the death toll at 47, based on early data.

A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “taken aback” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a radio station.

The Italian ambassador said all but five of the injured had now been identified. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Some victims were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and eight others remained unaccounted for. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Families in Anguish

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using online platforms to circulate photos of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend narrowly missed being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was really in shock,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s university hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and moved to the surgery or to intensive care units,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even many months.”