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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 authorities say many of the deceased were so badly burned that naming the victims could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

Approximately 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the inferno ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the crowded Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

“Our primary goal is to assign names to all the victims,” stated Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was exceptionally difficult. Families of missing youths issued pleas for news of their loved ones and foreign embassies worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said forensic specialists 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 no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he said.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having one of the world’s most sophisticated healthcare networks, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the fire. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were flown to Geneva, according to 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 offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds 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 diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would visit Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the fatality count at 47, based on early data.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “surprised” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a radio station.

The Italian ambassador said all but five of the injured had now been named. Several 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 one of its nationals was hurt.

Families in Anguish

Relatives and friends have been working desperately to find their loved ones, using online platforms to share images of those unaccounted for.

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 deeply traumatized,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been transferred for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing 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 many pictures [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. No information. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and transferred to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting several weeks or even many months.”