Belgian PM to attend Crans-Montana memorial service
Prime minister Bart De Wever will attend a ceremony on Friday for the victims of the fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, his cabinet has announced.
The fire in a bar claimed the lives of 40 people on New Year’s Eve and injured 116. A 17-year-old girl from Waterloo died and two other young Belgians were injured.
A service will be held on Friday in Martigny, close to Crans-Montana. De Wever will be present, as will French president Emmanuel Macron. Italian president Sergio Mattarella is also likely to attend. Several of the victims were tourists from France and Italy.
The BBC reports that the bar, Le Constellation, had not undergone safety checks for five years, according to local authorities. Checks should have been carried out every year.
“We regret that – we owe it to the families and we will accept the responsibility,” Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud told a press conference this week. An external contractor will inspect and audit all the venues in the area.
Those who died were aged from 14 to 39, with 15 of them under 18. The fire is thought to have been caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles, which set fire to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling of the basement bar. The bar’s managers have been placed under criminal investigation.
At the opening of the first plenary session of the new year, the Walloon Parliament observed a minute’s silence for the victims.
“On behalf of our Parliament, I would like to express our deepest sympathy to the families affected, our support to the emergency services and medical services who came to the rescue, and pay tribute to the victims of this terrible tragedy,” Parliament president Willy Borsus said.
A memorial to victims of the New Year's Eve fire in Crans-Montana, 6 January 2026 © PHOTO FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
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