Swiss families file legal complaint over New Year's bar fire

Families of victims from the Crans-Montana bar blaze have joined legal proceedings as plaintiffs, seeking accountability for the deadly New Year’s Eve fire. The investigation currently focuses on the bar’s owners amid questions over safety measures.

Reuters

8 January 2026 at 11:26:18

Swiss families file legal complaint over New Year's bar fire

A couple visits a makeshift memorial outside the "Le Constellation" bar, after a deadly fire and explosion during a New Year's Eve party, in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, January 7, 2026.

Umit Bektas/Reuters

Families of those who died or were injured in a New Year's Eve fire in the bar of a Swiss ski resort have filed a legal complaint to the Swiss prosecutor's office, a lawyer for a group of victims confirmed to Reuters on Thursday.

"Each family filed a complaint and joined the proceedings as a plaintiff. These applications were accepted (by prosecutors)," Romain Jordan, a Geneva-based lawyer, said in response to emailed questions.

He did not specify the target of the legal complaint, adding only that it was "against all those responsible, without exception".

The criminal investigation into the Crans-Montana fire only includes the bar's owners who are suspected of crimes including homicide by negligence. Questions remain about the fire and the safety procedures in place.

Prosecutors for the canton of Valais did not respond to requests for comment.

-Emma Farge/Reuters