After deadly Swiss bar fire, memorial for victims goes up in flames

CRANS-MONTANA (Switzerland), Feb 9 — A memorial for the victims of the deadly New Year’s fire in Switzerland itself caught fire early yesterday, police said, adding they were investigating what sparked the blaze.

The fire that erupted at the Le Constellation bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana in the early hours of January 1 killed 41 people and injured 115, mainly teenagers and young adults.

A makeshift memorial, laden with flowers, candles and messages of condolence set up near the site of the tragedy, caught alight around 6.00am (1pm Malaysia time) yesterday, regional police said in a statement.

This photograph shows a newly erected memorial tent near the Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana, after a fire early on February 8, 2026, damaged the previous memorial site near the bar ‘Le Constellation’ in tribute to the victims of the fatal fire that ravaged the bar on New Year's Eve.

“Firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control,” Wallis police said on X.

They said an investigation had been opened into what caused the blaze at the memorial, which long sat right in front of the burned-out bar, but had recently been moved a bit further away.

This handout photograph taken and released by the Swiss Valais cantonal Police department on February 8, 2026, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at a memorial site in front of the bar ‘Le Constellation’ in tribute to the victims of the fatal fire that ravaged the bar on New Year’s Eve in Crans-Montana. — AFP pic

Images broadcast by Swiss public broadcaster RTS yesterday showed the blackened top of white, igloo-like tarpaulin erected over the memorial to protect it from the weather visible behind a white screen and police tape. — AFP