Name: Swiss ski bar not inspected for five years before deadly fire, officials say | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-01-06T16:59:18.000Z
Duration: 5 min 25 s
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Lets turn to developments in Switzerland where officials there have said that no safety inspections were carried out between 2020 and 2025.

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At the bar, which burst into flames on New year's day, killing 40 people, the mayor of Crown, Montana, Nicholas Fiorl, said he's profoundly sorry to the families that adequate safety checks had not been carried out.

He says measures have now been taken to close another venue.

While he also said that sparkler candles, which officials say are likely to have caused the fire, have now been banned inside venues there.

The mayor says the council immediately wanted to be transparent when they realized that the bar hadn't been checked for those five years.

There hasn't been any checks, any investigation, any auditing surrounding the Constellation for five years.

We regretting that we owe it to the family and we will accept the responsibility.

When we took light of the fact, when we got, when we understood this situation and we realized we immediately wanted to be transparent.

These are the facts and information that has been sent to the Ministry.

This tragedy has brought a sentiment of uncertainty all across the region.

We are now putting everything in order to reassure them.

We will therefore have an external office coming in to look at our 128 establishments and have.

And full audits and check of all of our establishments around the City Council of Komontana.

Let's speak to our news correspondent, Nick Johnson, who joins me now in the studio.

Sinek, you actually went to Karen, Montana in the aftermath of that fatal fire.

You spoke to officials there during the course of your reporting and of course, the families of victims.

First of all, I think the one thing that most viewers will be thinking is how on earth could they not have checked that bar periodically over the course of five years for safety?

Yeah, it's really shocking, particularly as the owners took over in 2015.

We understand that they, they underwent a full refurbishment in the basement area in the bar.

And we heard in that news conference that they checked the outdoor terrace, the front bit of the bar, but

they didn't check the basement of the bar during what they described as their audit procedures.

So we heard the fact that there were no checks at all between 2020 and 2025.

But we also heard them say that the soundproofing, that soundproofing foam in the basement ceiling of the bar was considered acceptable.

And it's that soundproofing foam, we think is going to be at the heart of this investigation.

We saw pictures, didn't we, of those lit sparklers on top of champagne bottles igniting that ceiling foam and then the fire spreading incredibly quickly from that.

I mean, it was almost a mixture of one thing after another.

Because they've also talked about the candles and the sparklers, haven't they?

And what is also shocking as well, speaking to people when I was there earlier this week, was that those sparklers in top on top of bottles was, was a hallmark of that particular bar on New Year's Eve.

That's not something that they just did a one off.

And particularly this tragedy, it was something they did every New Year's Eve.

But you're right, in that press conference they said that those sparklers will now be banned.

They've also said that they're closed another venue belonging to the couple in the area.

And they've acknowledged that people in that particular region will be worried about fire safety in other institutions.

And they said they're going to check all the 128 nightlife spots in and around Crans, Montana for any sort of similarities in terms of lack of fire regulations.

Again, it seems to be one thing after another because I'm looking at more things that the authorities have admitted went wrong.

They say for the size of the bar, a fire alarm wasn't required.

But people watching this will be wondering why.

The other thing that has come out as well is that the bar was over what was seen as a fire safe capacity.

That's something you see at venues around the world.

People saying, you know, you need to make sure that, that you don't cram people in.

Even on nights like New Year's Eve where people are desperate to be part of these events and celebrations.

And even if it is extremely busy, as it clearly was a New Year's Eve, where are the fire exits?

We saw, didn't we, those videos of young people bundling up two flights of stairs to get out.

And that will be also form part of the investigation.

How many fire exits were they, Were they all open?

So you're right, it was one thing after another.

And the authorities have admitted for the first time today that there were mistakes.

The fact that there were no checks in those five years, I think that that's going to resonate for some time to come.

And that will obviously anger the families of those who've lost loved ones.

And they also say that there is no question of resigning over the fire.

We do not leave a ship in the middle of a storm.

But I think there will be families, won't they, Nick?

Thank you for joining me in the studio, Nick Johnson.

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Swiss ski bar not inspected for five years before deadly fire, officials say | BBC News

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