Several people were killed and many others injured in a massive explosion at a bar in Switzerland’s Crans Montana. The blast ripped through a bar called Le Constellation in the luxury Alpine ski resort town of Crans Montana during New Year’s celebrations, Swiss police said early Thursday.
“There has been an explosion of unknown origin… There are several injured and several dead,” Gaetan Lathion, a police spokesman in Wallis canton in southwestern Switzerland, told news agency AFP.
“The intervention is still ongoing,” he added.
The explosion took place at around 1:30 am (0030 GMT) at Constellation Bar, which is popular with tourists, as revellers rang in the new year.
The majority of casualties are believed to be tourists, who came to Crans-Montana for the holiday season. More than a hundred people were in the bar at the time of the explosion, the police spokesperson said.
Unverified images and videos circulating on social media showed a fire burning at a bar where New Year’s Eve celebrations had been taking place.
A severe explosion in the ski town of Crans-Montana in #Switzerland:
the police report several dead and injured in an incident that broke out in the area of the New Year’s event.
Emergency forces are on site and an investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the… pic.twitter.com/iioVEjVP1q
— War & Political News (@Elly_Bar_News) January 1, 2026
Police and fire services, as well as several helicopters, were deployed to the scene. A hotline has been set up for relatives of those affected.
The Swiss news outlet Blick reported that the fire might have been caused by fireworks during a concert. However, the police said the cause is unknown.
Crans-Montana is a luxury ski resort town located in the heart of the Alps in the region of Valais, approximately two hours from the Swiss capital of Bern.
The town, which is home to 87 miles of trails, is popular with British tourists. According to the BBC, at the end of January, the Crans-Montana resort is due to host a speed skiing event called the FIS World Cup.