A memorial set up to honour the victims of a deadly New Year's Day fire in Switzerland caught fire early on Sunday, with police saying the blaze was probably caused by candles left burning inside the tribute. The memorial had been erected near Le Constellation bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, where 41 people were killed and 115 injured when a packed celebration turned into one of the country's deadliest disasters.
The makeshift tribute, filled with flowers, candles and messages of condolence, caught alight shortly before 6 a.m., according to police in the canton of Valais. Emergency services quickly brought the fire under control, and no one was injured, though several commemorative items were damaged. A large book of remembrance containing messages from visitors over the past five weeks was saved from the flames.
Investigators said the fire likely started near candles placed at the centre of the memorial and ruled out third-party involvement. The incident has renewed anger and frustration among victims' families, already critical of local authorities over safety failures linked to the original blaze at the bar, which had not undergone mandatory fire inspections since 2019. Several officials, along with the bar's co-owners, remain under criminal investigation as the tragedy continues to cast a long shadow over the resort...