Crans-Montana: A 15-year-old girl of Greek descent among the missing persons

A 15-year-old girl of Greek descent who was at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, where a devastating fire broke out, is missing, with her relatives appealing for information through social media.

According to information from Greece’s public broadcaster ERT, Aliki Kallergi (Alice Kallergis) was reportedly at the bar on New Year’s Eve with friends. She holds dual Greek and Swiss citizenship and is a permanent resident of Switzerland.

Alice’s brother posted on social media saying that “we have no news at all” and is urging anyone with information to contact the following number: +41 789 040 021. He also stated that the 15-year-old was at the venue with three friends, who are also missing.

According to Sky News, citing an official briefing from Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the death toll has now risen to 47. Swiss authorities, however, have not yet issued an updated figure following their earlier announcement of 40 dead and 115 injured.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, anxiety among the families of the missing is overwhelming. Dozens of people are posting appeals on social media, trying to locate loved ones from whom they have had no news since the deadly blaze.

The victims of the Crans-Montana tragedy are “for the most part young people, very young people. That is what makes this tragedy even more painful,” said Mathias Reynard, president of the canton of Valais, in an interview on Friday with Swiss public radio and television (RTS), after meeting with victims’ families. As he noted, he fully understands “the unbearable waiting” these families are enduring. “Unfortunately, this waiting will continue until the victims can be identified. Is it their little brother, their little sister, their daughter or their son who is alive? We still have no answers,” he told Swiss radio.

Swiss authorities stress that identifying the victims will take time, as priority is currently being given to forensic work. Five of the 112 injured had not yet been identified, Italian ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado said on Thursday evening.

“We need to know where our child is”

On social media, photos of young people are appearing one after another, posted by relatives and friends in the hope that some information may emerge.

“My 15-year-old sister, Alice K., is missing. If you have seen her or know if she has been taken somewhere, please contact me,” one user wrote on X.
“Please, I’m looking for my friend Tailan. His parents have gone to all the hospitals, but no one knows where he is,” another wrote on Instagram.

Pierre Pralong, who has no news about his 22-year-old granddaughter, appealed via BFMTV “to anyone who was at the La Constellation bar and may have seen Émilie.” For the young woman’s father, the waiting is “very hard, full of anguish. I encourage him to keep hoping. But we are also preparing ourselves for the possibility that we may have to accept a tragic reality,” he said.

On Thursday evening, Laetitia, who still had no news of her son, spoke to RTL. “He had booked a huge table. They were all looking forward to spending New Year’s Eve together,” she recalled. “He texted me at 00:03 to wish me a happy new year. At 1:28, they posted a snap showing bottles with flammable sparklers. And at 1:30 came the first phone call warning of the fire.” The mother said she had very little hope left: “I believe my child is among the 40 dead. We are living a nameless nightmare. Our children’s friends are here, supporting us. We are staying here all day.”

She also denounced a lack of information: “We need to know where our child is. Today I don’t know which hospital my son is in. If he is in the morgue, I don’t even know which one. You can’t leave more than 40 parents like this, without any information. We need to be informed—not every three or four hours,” she stressed.

“Is he okay? Could he simply be in hospital?” Just hours after the flames destroyed the Crans-Montana bar on Thursday night, 17-year-old Éléonore and Élisa were desperately searching for their friends. “We tried to contact them. We posted messages on Instagram, on Facebook, on all the social networks we could to find them. But nothing. No reply. Even their parents don’t know,” the two girls told AFP.

On Thursday evening, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that nine French nationals were among the injured and that eight others remained unaccounted for. At the same time, Italy’s foreign minister said that “around fifteen Italians” had been injured and that a similar number were still missing.

Crans-Montana: The leading scenario behind the fire

According to information released so far by the authorities, the fire broke out before the explosion, and an investigation is ongoing to determine its exact cause.

Witnesses who were at the bar on the night in question said the fire appears to have started from champagne bottles fitted with sparklers, with some pointing to the moment when a bartender climbed onto a colleague’s shoulders holding the bottles.

However, authorities have clarified that they are not focusing on any individual, but rather on the causes that led to the fire. For this reason, no arrests have been made so far.

Πηγή: www.news247.gr