An 18-year-old man has described the terrifying scenes as he raced toward a burning bar in a Swiss ski resort on New Year’s Eve, fearing his younger brother was trapped inside.
The man, who asked not to be named, told the BBC he saw smoke rising into the night sky and ran toward the venue.
The Le Constellation bar at Crans-Montana resort, a popular spot for tourists, was packed with partygoers when the blaze erupted, killing at least 40 people and leaving 115 others injured — most of them seriously.
"It's very disturbing," he said.
"I went to that bar every day that week. The one day I didn't go, it burned."
Desperate to find his brother, he smashed a window to get inside and began pulling people away from the flames. His brother was later found unharmed.
Inside, he recalled scenes of horror: "People were burning from head to foot, no clothes anymore."
Screams filled the air as panicked revellers tried to escape. He gave his jacket to one of the wounded and offered water and clothes to others.
Another teenager who was inside the bar told the BBC how he was forced to hide from a "wall of heat" before managing to escape up the stairs.
Still, he could not get out so tried to break a window with a table. But it was only when he used his foot to smash through the glass that he was able to make it out alive.
The blaze broke out during New Year's Eve celebrations at the Crans-Montana resort less than two hours after midnight. (Source: Reuters)
Two French women, Emma and Albane, told French media outlet BFMTV that they were inside when the fire started.
They said they believed it began when a waitress put "birthday candles" on top of some champagne bottles.
"In a matter of seconds, the entire ceiling was ablaze. Everything was made of wood," they said, adding that the flames "started to rise very quickly".
Evacuation was "very difficult", the pair said, because the escape route out of the room they were in was "narrow" and the stairs leading outside were "even narrower".
"We were very lucky," they added, claiming there were "about 200 people trying to get out within 30 seconds through some very narrow steps".
Another witness described the aftermath as "mayhem," with badly burned victims and chaos as emergency crews fought to contain the fire.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the blaze. Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said efforts are underway to identify victims and notify families, calling the community "devastated".
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.
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