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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 specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while authorities report many of the dead were so badly burned that identification could take an extended period.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

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

“The first objective is to assign names to all the victims,” said Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or for ever changed,” Parmelin remarked at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Families of unaccounted-for young people issued pleas for news of their family members and diplomatic missions worked urgently to find out if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental charts and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so distressing and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Even with one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s local hospitals 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 transferred 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 admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

International Victims

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 all but five of the injured had now been identified. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Some victims were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens were among the injured and eight others remained unaccounted for. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Families in Anguish

Relatives and friends have been working desperately to find their loved ones, using social media to share images of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen living in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend narrowly missed 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 transferred 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 missing since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary fencing, she said she had not heard from 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 explained. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. No information. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend later received 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 university hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most between 16 to 26.

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