Son Missing After Swiss Bar Fire – New Year Text

Among those searching for their children yesterday was Laetitia Broadard-Sitre, who has not heard from her 16-year-old son Arthur since the horrific Swiss ski resort fire began

Desperate parents last night continued to search for answers about their loved ones after it was revealed kids as young as 16 died in the Swiss New Year fire disaster.

Youngsters, including teenage golfer Emanuele Galeppini, were among at least 40 who died in the bar disaster in the upmarket ski resort of Crans-Montana, just 90 minutes after revellers toasted the turn of the year. Among those searching for their children yesterday was Laetitia Broadard-Sitre, who has not heard from her 16-year-old son Arthur since the disaster began. He had texted her shortly after midnight wishing her a Happy New Year.

Fighting back tears while standing just yards from the site of the fire, the 42-year-old housewife told the Mirror: “It’s an unbearable wait. I won’t stop searching, I won’t give up.”

READ MORE: Horror new Swiss ski resort fire photos show exact moment sparklers start blazeREAD MORE: Brit-educated teen and dad missing after horror New Year’s Eve Swiss bar inferno

Other relatives of the missing, including Diana Gonset, 14, and Alicia Gonset, 15, were yesterday posting photos and details of their loved ones on social media, while hoping they may yet be found alive.

Family of the Gonset’s, who are believed to be sisters, shared a photo of them standing side-by-side dressed in party attire.

They are thought to have been in the bar with Charlotte Niddam, who is believed to be aged 15 and previously attended Emmanuel College, a private Jewish school in Watford, where they lived for several years before moving to Switzerland.

Melissa Rey also appealed for information about her sister Caroline, who went missing alongside two of her friends, Mariam Essouri and Emilie Pralong. In a heart-rending message posted online, Emilie’s family wrote: “Emilie Pralong, where are you? We love you.”

Family of 15-year-old Alice Kallergis, including her brother Romain who claimed he saw kids aged between 13 and 15 in the bar, also made a heartbreaking appeal. And the families of young girls Zelie Fournier and Dalia Benkirane were also last night searching for their whereabouts along with the loved ones of another young woman, Noémie Dabin, who reportedly went missing after going to the bar after work.

The mum of 16-year-old Giovanni Tamburi, from Bologna, also launched an appeal to find her son, telling wellwishers: “We’re calling all the hospitalsbut nobody knows anything, especially since the patients are in terrible condition.”

The family of 16-year-old Italian schoolboy Achille Barosi also appealed for information, as did pals of Pablo Pero, who turned 16 last month, Nathan Duboux, Not Trevnot and Joaquim Van Thuyne.

Swiss officials have said it could take days before they are able to identify and name all the victims of the tragedy in the well-known ski resort, which is around two hours drive from Geneva. They yesterday announced some 119 people, including 80 who yesterday remained in “critical” condition, are being treated in hospital, amid fears the death toll may yet rise further.

Among the injured are 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French, 11 Italian, four Serbs, a Bosnian, Luxembourger, Belgian, Pole and Portuguese. The nationality of 14 others remains unknown.

Police officers yesterday removed the final bodies from Le Constellation bar while continuing the heartbreaking task of identifying them, including by using DNA testing.

They said investigations have been opened in connection with several countries in order to identify the dead, including Switzerland, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, the Philippines, the Congo, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.

Questions were last night being raised about an apparent lack of visible exits in the bar, as well as allegedly breaching its 300-person capacity. There were also unverified claims about a lack of ID checking and about the bar allegedly allowing smoking indoors.

The criminal investigation last night continued as an official announced investigators believe the fire was caused by party sparklers which spread to the venue’s ceiling. Valais attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said the Swiss prosecution service is “sparing no effort in order to determine the circumstances.

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.”

Ms Pilloud said the bar’s owners, French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti, were interviewed as “people called to give information”, not under caution. She added: “We will be able to investigate whether any individuals bear criminal liability for this incident.

“And if this is the case and if these people are alive, all the investigations will be opened for fire by negligence, homicide by negligence and injuries by negligence.”

Her comments came after disturbing footage emerged showing a flaming sparkler being carried through the bar just inches away from the ceiling, which appeared to be made of sound-absorbing foam.

Other film also included party-goers carrying on singing and dancing to blaring music, seemingly oblivious to the danger they were in, as the blaze began. The Pope sent a message of support as local officials yesterday announced a memorial ceremony will be held in Crans-Montana on January 9 allowing the community “to live this national mourning together”.

It was also declared that a book of condolences will be put online from Saturday for anyone who wants to share a message of support. And amid the horror, there were also examples of heroism, including by student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, 19, who told how he bravely went backwards and forwards from the bar while the fire raged in a selfless bid to save lives.

He had been partying inside with six loved ones, including his brother, who remains in a coma, when he witnessed the fire start at around 1.30am. Returning to the scene of the disaster for the first time yesterday, he gave remarkable testimony about what he witnessed before telling how he attempted to use water to put the fire out.

He said: “I saw someone order these champagne bottles and I saw the waitresses take the bottles on their shoulders. The fire spread on the whole roof. I threw some water, but it didn’t help anything.

“At this moment I suppose someone opened the front door. This led to lots of air getting inside, which provided some air to the fire. And the fire turned into a fireball.”

Describing his bravery after getting outside, Ferdinand, who is from Paris and studying finance and economics at Munich University, said: “I couldn’t find anyone so I went back inside.

“I found someone, I suppose, I hope he was just unconscious. But my prayers are that he’s still alive. I grabbed him in the stairs and I took him out. I found someone laying in the stairs. This person was completely burned. Clothes were burned. I couldn’t recognise if it was a woman or a man.

“I could only see teeth. I grabbed this person who was really heavy. I slid him on the ground and he was being taken care of outside by a policeman and firemen.” Ferdinand added: “It was terrifying. It felt like a war scene.”