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Survivors of the devastating nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are being cared for in special burns units across Europe, while authorities report many of the dead were so severely injured that naming the victims could take days or weeks.

A Tragedy of Terrifying Scale

About 40 people were killed and 115 injured when the inferno engulfed a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

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

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, called the fire “a calamity of unparalleled, terrifying proportions” as he described the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives brutally cut short, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a press briefing.

Challenging Task of Naming Victims

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said identification work was particularly gruelling. Families of unaccounted-for young people issued urgent appeals for news of their loved ones and diplomatic missions scrambled to determine if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.

A regional leader, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the solemn duty. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so distressing and sensitive that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he said.

Overwhelmed Medical Systems

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 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, said he had offered his country’s help as clinics in Paris and Lyon took in patients, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had hospital beds available.

International Victims

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador 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 death toll at 47, based on preliminary information.

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 all but five of the injured had now been named. A number of Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Some victims were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.

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

Families in Anguish

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their missing family members, using online platforms to circulate photos of those unaccounted for.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident 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 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 desperate hunt for friends who have been missing since the fire. Outside the bar, now covered by white tarpaulins and a barrier of temporary barriers, she said she had not had contact with 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. No information. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend managed to get news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s university hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 badly burned patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being stabilised and transferred to the operating theatre or to specialised beds,” she informed a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even months.”