A video shows flammable foam panels hanging loose in a Swiss bar before a deadly fire. Photo / X
A video has emerged showing flammable foam panels hanging loose from the ceiling of a bar in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana two weeks before the deadly New Year’s Eve fire.
The clip surfaced as the owners reportedly appeared to shift blame on to their young staff for starting the blaze and blocking an escape route.
Footage broadcast by French public television channel France 2 appears to show an employee at Le Constellation struggling to keep insulation foam in place using improvised tools, including billiard cues and paper towels, in mid-December.
In one clip, Gaëtan Thomas-Gilbert, a staff member, can be seen pushing sagging panels back towards the ceiling before sending the video to his boss, Jacques Moretti, who replies by voice message: “Yeah, that looks okay. Take the others off, please.”
Thomas-Gilbert, 28, who was severely burnt in the fire, had previously told his father of his concerns about safety at the venue and his intention to resign.
The fire, which broke out shortly after midnight on January 1, killed 40 people – many of them teenagers, the youngest aged just 14 – and left more than 100 injured, plunging the Alpine resort into mourning.
Swiss prosecutors have charged Moretti, 49, and his wife, Jessica Moretti-Maric, 40, both French nationals and co-owners of the bar, with negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson, alleging serious safety failures at the venue.
Investigators are focusing on the foam insulation, which Moretti has acknowledged installing himself. Authorities believe it may have ignited when it came into contact with sparkler candles placed on champagne bottles during new year’s celebrations, rapidly spreading flames and toxic smoke through the crowded basement bar.
In leaked interrogation records reported by Le Parisien, Moretti was quoted as blaming waitress Cyane Panine, 24, who died in the fire, for performing the champagne “stunt” that lit the ceiling. “It was Cyane’s show,” he told prosecutors. “I didn’t forbid her from doing that. We didn’t see the danger.”
During questioning, Moretti also said he had personally tested the material. “I took a blowtorch to test the foam. It burned and I had to put the fire out, but the only thing that bothered me was the smoke – otherwise, nothing shocked me,” he said, according to a transcript broadcast on French television.
Nicolas Meier, his lawyer, has insisted the owners acted in good faith, saying the foam was bought from a specialist supplier and approved for use in a public venue. “It’s what was advised to him as the right type of foam,” Meier said.
“Once it was installed, the foam was checked several times during inspections, including in the presence of a fire service official, and no one found anything wrong with it.”
In another development, a still image from CCTV broadcast by France 2 appears to show a chair wedged against the exit minutes before the blaze began. Moretti and Moretti-Maric have blamed an unidentified staff member for closing the door, a claim denied by employees.
Several witnesses told investigators that a rear escape route was blocked on the night of the fire, amid wider questions regarding safety, including an alleged dearth of fire extinguishers.
Sophie Haenni, the lawyer for Panine’s family, told The Telegraph that the young waitress should be seen as a victim, not a cause. “She simply followed the instructions she was given,” she said. “She was never informed of the danger posed by the ceiling and received no safety training.”
The case has now triggered a diplomatic row between Switzerland and Italy after Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, condemned Moretti’s release on bail of 200,000 Swiss francs ($430,000) last Friday. Six of the dead and at least 10 of the injured were Italian.
Survivors such as Eleonora Palmieri, a 29-year-old veterinarian who has posted images of her injuries online, have described scenes of panic as partygoers tried to flee the smoke-filled bar.
Meloni said she had called Guy Parmelin, the Swiss president, to express her “outrage”, describing the decision as “a serious insult to the memory of the victims”. Italy briefly recalled its ambassador to Bern for talks, while demanding that Italian police be allowed to take part in the Swiss investigation.
Families of victims have also voiced their anger. Umberto Marcucci, whose 16-year-old son is recovering from severe burns, said the authorities needed to “send a message” about accountability.
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