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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 specialized trauma centers in various European nations, while authorities report many of the dead were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were lost their lives and 115 hurt when the inferno engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and basement nightclub.

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

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a disaster of unprecedented, terrifying proportions” as he described the devastating toll. “Beyond these numbers are faces, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

Such was the severity were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Parents of missing youths issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and foreign embassies 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 findings is so distressing and delicate that nothing can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

Despite having 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 flown 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 offering support.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s assistance 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 missing 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 a foreign government 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 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. Three Italians were returned home on Thursday with more to follow.

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

Families in Anguish

Loved ones have been working desperately to find their missing family members, using online platforms to circulate photos of those unaccounted for.

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 deeply traumatized,” Martins told reporters.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, 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 barriers, 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 said. “But there’s no news. 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 medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s teaching hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

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