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Those who escaped of the devastating nightclub blaze in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while investigators report many of the deceased were so badly burned that naming the victims could take an extended period.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

Approximately 40 people were killed and 115 hurt when the inferno engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and underground club.

“The first objective is to put names to all the bodies,” said Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a disaster of unprecedented, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Parents of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and foreign embassies scrambled to determine if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike modern Switzerland.

Mathias Reynard, 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 findings is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the fire. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, according to 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 offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the fatality count 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 the majority of the injured had now been named. Several 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 several nationals were among the injured and additional individuals remained unaccounted for. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.

Families in Anguish

Relatives and friends have been working desperately to find their missing family members, using social media to share images of those unaccounted for.

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

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 added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary barriers, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend managed to get news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

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

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