Sparkling Candles On Champagne Bottles Ignited Fatal Swiss Bar Fire, Investigators Say
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Forty people were killed and another 119 injured at a Swiss ski resort on New Year’s Eve.
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire at a Swiss ski resort when they came too close to the ceiling of a bar crowded with New Year’s Eve revelers.
Authorities planned to look into whether the sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether sparklers were permitted for use in the bar.
The candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, were the same type that is commonly available for parties, officials said.
Forty people were killed and another 119 injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the worst tragedies in Switzerland’s history.
Many of the wounded were in their teens to mid-20s, police said.
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