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Survivors of the catastrophic nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in specialized trauma centers across Europe, while authorities say many of the dead were so badly burned that naming the victims could take an extended period.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

Approximately 40 people were killed and 115 hurt when the inferno 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 victims,” said Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unprecedented, horrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Parents of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and foreign embassies worked urgently to determine if their citizens were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental charts and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

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 blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, according to news agencies.

Many more 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 providing medical assistance.

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 hospital beds available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are missing and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on early data.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “taken aback” by the higher number. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a media outlet.

The Italian ambassador said all but five of the injured had now been named. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Some victims were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and eight others remained missing. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been working desperately to find their loved ones, using online platforms 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 really in shock,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, 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 wall of temporary barriers, 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 no news. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend managed to get news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and transferred to the surgery or to intensive care units,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even many months.”