Deadly Fire in Swiss Ski Resort: Narrowed Staircase a Key Factor
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* Tragedy in Crans-montana: A fire at the “Le constellation” bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana resulted in 40 deaths.
* Staircase Bottleneck: 34 of the victims died on a staircase in the basement, wich had been substantially narrowed from 3 meters to 1.37 meters during renovations in 2015 by the bar operator,Jacques M. This narrowing created a fatal bottleneck during the escape attempt.
* Renovation Concerns: Jacques M. largely carried out the renovations himself with friends, without involving specialist companies or obtaining building authority approval.
* fire cause Under Investigation: The prosecution believes party fountains ignited foam on the ceiling.Though, Jacques M.disputes this, stating the fountains used were not strong enough to cause the fire and that they had used them for years without incident.
* Other Victims: Three bodies were found in front of the bar, and three more in front of a locked exit in the smoking room. Jacques M. stated he found the service door locked on New Year’s Eve.
* Crowd Impact: The narrow staircase led to the wooden handrail and paneling being torn off in the panicked crowd.