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Survivors of the devastating bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in specialized trauma centers across Europe, while investigators say many of the deceased were so badly burned that identification could take days or weeks.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

About 40 people were lost their lives and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and underground club.

“Our primary goal is to assign names to all the victims,” said Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

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

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Parents of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their family members and foreign embassies worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental records and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so distressing and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics 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.

A significant number of the injured were transported 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 medical capacity 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 visit Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the death toll at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “surprised” 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 named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Three Italians were repatriated 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 a citizen was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Loved ones have been working desperately to find their loved ones, using online platforms to share images 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 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 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, every social network possible to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s no news. 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 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 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and transferred to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even months.”