Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation against the French couple who managed the bar-disco where the fire that killed 40 people took place in New Year’s Eve.
“They are accused of homicide due to negligence, bodily injury due to negligence and arson due to negligence,” the Valais Canton Police reported this Saturday, insisting that until there is a conviction the principle of presumption of innocence applies.
In statements to the newspaper The Court of Genevaboth have said they feel “devastated” and have defended that the establishment complied with all safety regulations.
“Everything was done according to the protocols. We cannot sleep or eat. We are very bad,” they stated in an interview with the aforementioned newspaper.
Jacques and Jessica Moretti are two entrepreneurs from corso that arrived in the Alps in the 2000s and in 2015 acquired the establishment. Until then it was an abandoned place.
After 100 days of intensive renovations, they reopened it with an offering that included Corsican charcuterie, myrtle liqueur and island whiskey. The bar had 14 television screens to watch sports, especially football.
Despite being in a luxury area, it was much cheaper than other nearby establishments, accustomed to receiving wealthy profiles.
The owner was inside the premises during the incident, although she was able to escape with burns on her arm. The co-owner was in another nearby establishment that he also owns.
Some of its workers died during the incident.
Identification of bodies
The fire caused 40 deaths and at least 119 injuries, according to authorities.
As many of the injured are being identified, families now face an agonizing wait for information about who is still missing.
The authorities have already identified the first deceased, all of them Swiss: two women, aged 21 and 16; and two men, aged 18 and 16, whose remains have been handed over to their families.
Of the injured, 16 French have been identified, and there are nine others who are believed to have been there and are pending location, which means that some could be part of the fatalities.
Likewise, there are ten injured people who have been transferred from Switzerland to be treated in french hospitals.
Since Thursday and to alleviate the burden of the health centers swissand in particular of its specialized burn services that have been saturated by the incident, the French authorities had reserved 19 hospital beds to treat injured people from Crans Montana, 15 for adults and 4 for pediatric care.
The probable cause of the fire was sparklers placed in champagne bottles that were brought too close to the ceiling, according to a preliminary investigation into the origin of the fire.