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Those who escaped of the catastrophic bar fire in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units across Europe, while authorities say many of the dead were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

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

“The first objective is to put names to all the bodies,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, horrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, completely interrupted or for ever changed,” Parmelin said at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Parents of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and foreign embassies worked urgently to find out if their citizens were among those caught up 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 records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so distressing and delicate that no detail 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 regional clinics 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, according to 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 offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are missing and Italy’s diplomatic representative to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed but a foreign government has put the fatality count at 47, based on early data.

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 the majority of the injured had now been named. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen receiving treatment. 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 missing. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their loved ones, using social media to circulate photos 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 frantic search for friends who have been missing since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a wall 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 said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend later received news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne.

Long Road to Recovery

The director of the city’s university hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most ranging in age from 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and moved to the operating theatre or to intensive care units,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even many months.”