One of the two owners of Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland has been detained as a potential flight risk, according to local prosecutors.
French language Swiss news outlet 24 Heures reports that the owner, Jacques Moretti, is being held in custody following a court order. Earlier today, Moretti and co-owner Jessica Moretti appeared for a hearing with prosecutors in Sion, Switzerland.
The fire ripped through Le Constellation bar in the early hours of New Year’s Day in the Swiss canton of Valais. Videos posted and verified by authorities showed pyrotechnic “sparkling candles” that ignited the blaze. Forty people in the bar were killed; half of the dead who have been identified have been described by prosecutors as teenagers.
The sparklers are believed to have ignited acoustic foam used for soundproofing. If accurate, the fuel for the Constellation fire matches that of another high casualty nightclub incident, the 2003 Station fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island during a show by the band Great White, which killed 100 people and injured 230 from either the fire or the crush as patrons sought to escape the fast-spreading flames.
The Swiss government declared Friday a national day of mourning.
Photo: Shrine of candles, flowers, stuffed animals and other tributes to the victims of the Le Constellation bar fire, Dodo von den Bergen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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