Swiss bar fire victims honoured with silent march by hundreds of mourners

Hundreds of mourners marched through the streets in honour of the victims before gathering by the bar where the fire took place to lay flowers.

Hundreds marched in silence Sunday to honour the victims of the New Year’s Eve fire at a bar in the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana, which left 40 dead and many severely injured.

Sombre mourners, many with reddened eyes, filed silently out of the chapel to organ music after the hourlong Mass at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana. Some exchanged hugs, others applauded, before joining the silent march up the hill to Le Constellation bar.

Many hundreds of people, some cradling flower bouquets, walked in the dense snaking procession in the bright sunlight past shuttered stores. Up on the mountain overlooking the town, snow machines sent plumes of white flakes into the air.

At the top of the street, in front of Le Constellation that is still largely shielded from view by white screens, the swelling crowd stood in near total silence, some weeping. Then they broke out into sustained applause — hands in gloves and mittens against the cold — as a stream of mourners and well-wishers deposited flower bouquets at a makeshift memorial piled with flowers, cuddly toys and other tributes.

“Through this tragic event, I believe we must all remember that we are all brothers and sisters in humanity,” Véronique Barras, a local resident who knows grieving families, said. “It’s important to support each other, to hug each other, and to move forward towards light.”

Cathy Premer said her daughter was out celebrating her 17th birthday on Dec. 31 when she called in the early hours of the morning to say she was stuck because Le Constellation was cordoned off. “For the young — but even for adults — it’s hard to understand things that seem inexplicable,” she said. “They went there to party, it’s a destination for Dec. 31, it’s very festive, there were people of many nationalities … and it all turned into a tragedy.”

In the crowd, Paola Ponti Greppi, a 80-year-old Italian who has a house in Crans-Montana, called for safety checks in bars. “We need more safety in these places because it’s not the only place like this. Why didn’t the town do the proper checks? For me that’s terrible.”

During the Mass, the Rev. Gilles Cavin spoke of the “terrible uncertainty” for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive among the injured. “There are no words strong enough to express the dismay, anguish, and anger of those who are affected in their lives today. And yet, we are here, gathered because silence alone is not enough,” he said.