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Those who escaped of the catastrophic nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in special burns units across Europe, while investigators say many of the deceased were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the blaze engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

“Our primary goal is to put names to all the bodies,” stated local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are individuals, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Parents of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and foreign embassies scrambled to find out if their citizens were among those involved 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 charts and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so distressing and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the fire. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown 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 confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said 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.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said a number of their citizens are unaccounted for 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 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 radio station.

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been named. Several 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 injured.

Families in Anguish

Loved ones have been working desperately to find their loved ones, using online platforms to circulate photos of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living 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 said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated 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 unheard from since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. 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.

Long Road to Recovery

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and moved to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be protracted and demanding, lasting many weeks or even many months.”