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New NYE bar fire video shows revellers party as flames spread not realising scale of horror – as officials confirm cause
Clips from inside the packed club show partygoers dancing with huge sparklers attached to Champagne bottles
NEW footage has emerged showing revellers filming a deadly blaze as it broke out at a packed bar in Switzerland before killing 40 people.
Unaware of the extent of horror that was about to unfold, the partygoers were seen cheering and dancing with sparklers in champagne bottles to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Huge flames lick across the ceiling and soundproofing at Le Constellation barCredit: Ferdinand Du Beaudiez
Sparklers were held up shortly before the fire
The bar in the alpine resort of Crans-Montana was packed with over 200 people when the fire broke outCredit: Ferdinand Du Beaudiez
Swiss authorities said that the sparklers, which the people were seen waving too close to the bar’s ceiling, most likely started the devastating fire.
Valais attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said authorities are “sparing no effort” to determine the circumstances of this tragic event.
She said: “It would appear that the fire started from sparkler candles, otherwise known as flares, which were placed on top of champagne bottles.
“These flares were taken too close to the ceiling. This led to what is referred to a flashover incident where the fire spread very rapidly.
Clips from inside the bar show the ceiling and soundproofing in the Le Constellation bar catching fire, with huge flames licking across the roof.
One man tries to extinguish the flames with a cloth.
The blaze – which left another 119 people with horrific injuries – started just hours after midnight at Le Constellation bar in the upmarket Alpine resort of Crans-Montana.
Other images of the bar show soundproofing foam fitted on the ceiling, across which the fire seemed to spread at a pace.
Soundproofing foam used at clubs is often highly flammable, and it is thought to have fuelled the blaze.
A witness identified only as Emma told BFM: “Some of the bottles were near the ceiling, and it caught fire.
“The whole ceiling was in flames and the fire spread really fast.
“It happened in seconds. We ran outside, screaming and crying.”
A local police spokesman confirmed that “dozens of pyrotechnic devices in bottles” lined tables in the basement of the bar.
As the fire raged into an inferno, partygoers tried to escape, but the exit staircase was narrow.
One brave survivor told of how he fought through the surging flames and made for a narrow staircase before scrambling to safety.
Student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, 19, was partying with seven pals – including his brother and girlfriend – at Le Constellation when it went up in flames.
But he refused to leave his friends and brother to perish and ran back in to find them.
Ferdinand, who was holidaying with family in the alps, told The Sun: “I went back inside and I found someone lying on the stairs.
“They were completely burned.”
Ferdinand said that the body was so charred he could only see their teeth.
The teen said: “I couldn’t recognise whether it was a woman or a man. I could only see teeth.”
On top of the 40 people killed, 115 were injured, with patients as young as 15 in hospital across several countries.
Large numbers of the dead and injured are teenagers.
The first of the dead to be identified was 16-year-old Emanuele Galeppini, an Italian golfer.
Other families now face an “unbearable” wait for victims to be identified after officials said the process will “take time” – and potentially last several days.
The deadly fire took the lives of 40 people, as well as injuring more than 100 othersCredit: Supplied
Floral tributes have been left to the victim of the huge fire in SwitzerlandCredit: EPA
Chilling photos and videos show the fire taking hold as desperate partygoers try to escapeCredit: Ferdinand Du Beaudiez
