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Those who escaped of the catastrophic bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units in various European nations, while investigators report many of the dead were so badly burned that naming the victims could take an extended period.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 injured when the blaze ripped through 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 local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he outlined the devastating toll. “Beyond these numbers are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Parents of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions scrambled to find out if their citizens were among those involved in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental charts and DNA samples for the task. “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 said.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

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 flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU said it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said 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.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are unaccounted for and Italy’s diplomatic representative 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 media outlet.

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been named. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and additional individuals remained missing. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.

Families in Anguish

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using social media to circulate photos of those still missing.

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 deeply traumatized,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with his body 30% covered in burns, Martins stated.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend managed to get news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

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 surgery or to intensive care units,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even months.”