Swiss ski resort fire: Families of missing teens desperate for news

The families of teenagers missing after a fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort are facing an agonising wait for news and appealing for information about their loved ones online.

The fire in Crans-Montana was likely caused by sparklers placed on bottles of champagne that came “too close to the ceiling”, Swiss officials told a news conference on Friday.

An investigation into the fire will focus on the materials used at the site, the bar’s fire safety measures, its capacity and the number of people inside at the time, Valais Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud said.

Swiss authorities have said it could take days if not weeks to identify the victims of the fire, which killed 40 people and injured another 119. Officials said 113 of the injured had been identified, with authorities still working to identify the other six.

In the meantime, families and friends have been taking to social media to appeal for information about their loved ones who were at the bar that night.

The whereabouts of Swiss national Arthur Brodard, 16, are currently unknown, his mother Laetitia said.

“I must find my son… it’s been 30 hours since [he] disappeared,” she told the BBC, adding that she wanted his photo “to be everywhere so that, just in case, someone recognises him, they can call me”.

Ms Brodard said that she and Arthur’s father had been checking hospitals in Lausanne and Bern, but could not find him, earlier telling local newspaper Le Temps that she was “living a nightmare.”

Some of his friends had been found with burns covering nearly half their bodies, she told the newspaper. “There are no words – they went through hell.”

Another missing Italian national is Achille Osvaldo Giovanni Barosi, 16, who entered the bar at 01:30 local time on New Year’s Day to retrieve his jacket and phone. His family have not heard from him since.

“We don’t know if he’s still alive,” his aunt Francesca told the BBC World Service’s OS programme.

She described her nephew, who is enrolled in an art school in Milan, as a beautiful boy and an excellent painter.

“We just want to find him, and that’s it.”

The Italian foreign ministry has said six of its citizens remain missing.

Among them is Emanuele Galeppini, a 16-year-old junior golfer, originally from Genoa but now living in Dubai.

The Italian Golf Federation has said he is dead, without mentioning the fire, paying tribute to a “young athlete who carried with him passion and authentic values”.

His father, Edoardo, is quoted by Italian TV channel TG24 as saying his son was at the bar and was last heard from around midnight. An Italian foreign ministry spokesperson has told the BBC that it was not confirming the death yet.

Giovanni Tamburi, 16, is also among the missing. His mother, Carla Masiello, from Bologna, told La Repubblica that he had been on holiday with his father but had gone out with friends and ended up at La Constellation.

“A close friend of his told me they ran away after the fire broke out and that he had [his phone] with him, but then at a certain point he couldn’t see him anymore,” she told the newspaper, adding he had been wearing a gold chain with a small Madonna around his neck.

Tania Causio, one of his teachers at Porta Saragozza High School, told La Repubblica: “I’ve always been struck by his kindness and smile, coupled with great maturity. Every time I walk into class, he asks if I want him to go get me a coffee.”

Also reported missing by family members is Emilie Pralong, 22, who is thought to have been at Le Constellation with several friends who may also be missing.

Her grandfather, Pierre, described an “agonising” wait for information, telling French broadcaster BFMTV: “We always hope – we are full of hope. It helps to overcome whatever the hardship.”

While he expressed optimism that she may turn up relatively unharmed in hospital, he said: “We have to be ready to accept a more difficult situation. We mustn’t dream, we have to be realistic in the face of a tragedy like this.”

Alice Kallergis, who holds dual Greek and Swiss nationality but lives permanently in Switzerland, was also at the bar on New Year’s Eve, according to sources and reports in Greek media.

Her brother has posted an appeal on Instagram, saying the family has had “no news” regarding the 15-year-old or the three friends she was with and who are also reported missing.

Greek consular authorities say they are continuing to monitor the situation closely.

Additional reporting by Nikos Papanikolaou and Isabella Bull