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Those who escaped of the devastating nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in specialized trauma centers across Europe, while investigators report many of the deceased were so badly burned that naming the victims could take an extended period.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 injured when the blaze ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“The first objective is to put names to all the bodies,” stated local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, horrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin said at a press briefing.

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 urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions worked urgently to determine if their citizens 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 experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and delicate that no detail can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he explained.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the fire. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred 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 took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

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

A regional health and safety official said 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 identified. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Some victims were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and additional individuals remained unaccounted for. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using social media to share images of those unaccounted for.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living 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 severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded 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, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. 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 medically induced unconsciousness 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 informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be protracted and demanding, lasting several weeks or even many months.”