Swiss prosecutors have ordered the arrest of the owner of a ski bar in a hot fire investigation – nationwide
Swiss prosecutors said on Friday they had ordered one of the two owners of a bar where a New Year’s Day fire killed 40 people to be arrested over a plane crash, local media said.
Prosecutors are investigating the French owners for alleged crimes including manslaughter, and the victims’ families have filed legal complaints over the fire at the “Le Constellation” bar in Crans-Montana in the Canton of Valais.
Shortly after the Swiss newspaper 24 Heures reported that one of the couple, Jacques Moretti, was in custody, prosecutors said they had issued an order for him to be detained.
Valais police declined to comment.
Earlier, Jacques and Jessica Moretti did not answer the journalists’ questions when they entered the prosecutor’s office in the city of Sion for the trial. Swiss authorities have designated Friday as a national day of mourning.
The couple expressed their sadness at the new incident and said they will fully cooperate with the investigation. More than half of those who died were young people and another 116 were injured, many of them seriously.
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Several French and Italian citizens were among the dead, and Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgio Meloni, called for those responsible for the fire to be severely punished.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella and French President Emmanuel Macron joined Swiss leaders, victims’ families and firefighters at a ceremony on Friday in the town of Martigny, where a minute’s silence was held in memory of the victims.
Dozens of people also stood near the barrier in Crans-Montana in silence, their heads bowed under the heavy snow.
Authorities placed hundreds of bullets, teddy bears and flowers for the dead under the igloo to protect them from the snow.
POLITICIANS WANT FULL ANSWERS
Speaking at Martigny’s event, the President of Switzerland, Guy Parmelin, said he hoped that those who caused the fire would be answered “without delay or reprieve.”
That must involve the relevant political authorities, said Mathias Reynard, head of the Valais government.
Speaking in Rome on Friday, Meloni promised to help the families of the Italian victims to get justice, and said he was considering a ban in Italy on the use of particles in homes.
“What happened in Crans-Montana is the result of many people not doing their job or thinking they are making easy money.
Witnesses and prosecutors said the fire appeared to have been started by the use of glowing candles burning soundproof foam in the attic.
Questions remain about supervision at the bar, with the local mayor admitting this week that multiple security checks were bypassed.
Prosecutors said last weekend that the legal conditions for detaining the owners of the property had not been met.
In a January 6 statement, the owners said: “We are devastated and overcome with grief, our thoughts are always with those who lost their lives, their loved ones who died so cruelly and prematurely, and all those who fought for their lives.”
21 of the dead were from Switzerland, seven from France, and six from Italy. Swiss-French and French-British-Israeli nationals were also among the dead.
