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Those who escaped of the devastating nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in specialized trauma centers across Europe, while authorities say many of the dead were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

About 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the inferno ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

“Our primary goal is to put names to all the bodies,” stated local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives tragically ended, completely interrupted or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin said at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Families of missing youths issued pleas for news of their family members and foreign embassies scrambled to find out if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies 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 terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Even with one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s regional clinics quickly reached capacity in the hours after the blaze. More than 30 people were taken to hospitals with dedicated burn centers in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

Many more of the injured were transported 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 hospital beds available.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals 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 another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on early data.

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

The Italian ambassador said the majority of the injured had now been named. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.

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

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Loved ones have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using social media to share images of those unaccounted for.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident 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 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 frantic search for friends who have been missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now shielded 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 loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible platforms to try to find them,” she explained. “But there’s no news. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents haven't heard anything.”

She and a friend managed to get 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 moved to the operating theatre or to intensive care units,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even many months.”