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Survivors of the catastrophic nightclub blaze in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in specialized trauma centers across Europe, while authorities report many of the deceased were so severely injured that naming the victims could take an extended period.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

“The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,” stated Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Beyond these numbers are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a press briefing.

Gruelling Identification Process

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was exceptionally difficult. Families of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions worked urgently to determine if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to strike the country in recent memory.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so distressing and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,” he said.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Even with one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

Many more of the injured were flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU said 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 assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

A Multinational Tragedy

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

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on preliminary information.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “taken aback” by the latter figure. “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 named. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. Three Italians were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and additional individuals remained unaccounted for. Australia has said a citizen was hurt.

Families in Anguish

Loved ones have been working desperately to find their missing family members, using online platforms to share images of those unaccounted for.

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 really in shock,” 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 added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a desperate hunt for friends who have been missing since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now shielded 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 said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend managed to get 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 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 informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the medical care will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even months.”