Several tens dead, about 100 injured as fire rips through Swiss Alps ski resort bar during New Years celebrations

Swiss police said “several tens of people” are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a Swiss Alps bar during a New Year’s celebration.Specific casualty figures were not immediately available.Multiple people were killed in the blaze and many others were injured in the Alpine ski resort municipality of Crans-Montana, Switzerland, police said.“The fire started around 1:30 a.m.this morning in a bar called ‘Le Constellation,’” police spokesperson Gaëtan Lathion said.

“More than a hundred people were in the building, and we are seeing many injured and many dead.”Investigators were working to determine the cause of the fire, police said.“We’re just at the beginning of our investigation, but this is an internationally renown ski resort with lots of tourists,” Lathion said.A reception center and helpline have been established for impacted families, Lathion said.The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 25 miles north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 81 miles south of Zurich.The highest point of Crans-Montana, with a population of 10,000 residents, sits at an elevation of nearly 1.86 miles, according to the municipality’s website, which says officials are seeking to move away from a tourist culture and attract high-tech research and development.The municipality was formed only nine years ago, on Jan.1, 2017, when multiple towns merged.

It extends over 2.3 square miles from the Rhône Valley to the Plaine Morte glacier....