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Those who escaped of the devastating bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while authorities say many of the dead were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the inferno engulfed 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 disaster of unprecedented, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the devastating toll. “Behind these figures are faces, names, families, lives tragically ended, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Families of missing youths issued pleas for news of their family members and diplomatic missions scrambled to find out if their citizens were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike modern Switzerland.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so terrible and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Even with one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

Many more 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 providing medical assistance.

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 medical capacity available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are missing 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 death toll at 47, based on early data.

A regional health and safety official said on Friday he was “surprised” by the higher number. “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 receiving treatment. Some victims 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 online platforms to share images 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 transferred 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 missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took loads of photos [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 haven't heard anything.”

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 teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and transferred to the operating theatre or to intensive care units,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be protracted and demanding, lasting several weeks or even many months.”