DESPERATE families of youngsters still missing after a deadly inferno engulfed a Swiss bar have begged for information on their loved ones.
Teenagers as young as 14 have not been seen or heard from since the disastrous New Year’s Eve celebration.
Their panicked families have released heartbreaking appeals in the hope of finding their whereabouts after at least 40 were killed and 119 were injured.
Photos documenting the missing persons, mostly teenagers and young people, with their names, dates of birth and relatives’ contact details, have been posted on social media.
Two girls, aged just 14 and 15, are among the missing. They are believed to be sisters.
Family members of Diana and Alicia Gonset posted a beautiful photograph of the girls standing side by side dressed in party attire.
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They were possibly with Charlotte Niddam, also missing, on the night of the tragedy.
Laetitia Brodard-Sitre from western Switzerland is searching for her child, Arthur.
She posted a photo of her son on her Facebook feed with the words: “My son Arthur Brodard, born February 22, 2009, is among the victims of the fire in Crans-Montana.
“We don’t know if he’s alive or where he is. If you have any information about which hospital he’s in, please contact me. Share.”
What we know so far…
She said: “I’ve been looking for my son for over 30 hours. I don’t know which hospital he is in. I don’t know which district he is in. I don’t know which canton or country he is in. I won’t stop looking. I won’t let go.”
Nora Sirisin’s cousin appealed for anyone with information. She wrote: “She wears a gold chain with a heart-shaped pendant, black jeans, a cream jacket, a black turtle-neck sweater. If you have information, please contact her mother.”
A friend of Nora’s also posted a photo saying Nora and Fany Pinheiro are missing.
She wrote: “Fany has a little tattoo of a cherry on her hip and a small angel behind her left arm.
Melissa Rey appealed for information about her sister Caroline.
A description of Caroline’s tattoos read: “She has a crown on her right shoulder, a champagne cup on her left shoulder as well as two stars, a moon surrounded by stars with text underneath her left bicep, a flame heart on her left wrist. On her bac,k she has dragonfly wings in the middle.
“A heart formed with water droplets above her left knee. Cobweb heart above right knee.”
Melissa is missing with two of her friends, Emilie Pralong and Mariam Essouri, who wear a silver ring with two blue-green stones and a gold ring with a purple stone.
The family of Emilie wrote: “Emilie Pralong, where are you? We love you.”
Young men Pablo Pero, who turned 16 at the beginning of December, Nathan Duboux, Not Trevnot and Joaquim Van Thuyne are also missing.
The cousin of Stiven Ivanovski posted a picture of Stiven with sunglasses, saying he may have been wearing them.
The sister and friends of Alice Kallergis, 15, made a heartbreaking appeal, praying for a miracle.
They detailed the jewellery she was wearing.
Zelie Fournier and Dalia Benkirane are two young girls whose families are desperately searching for their whereabouts.
One young woman Noémie Dabin is missing after going to the bar after work. One of her friends was airlifted to Bern Hospital.
The parents of Giovanni Tamburi, 16, from Bologna, Italy, also launched an appeal.
His mother said: “We are calling all the hospitals, but nobody knows anything, especially as those who have been admitted are in a terrible condition.”
The family of Achille Barosi, a 16-year-old Italian, is also appealing for any information.
The children of Giovanni Putelli stated their father was in the bar and they had no news. They pleaded for people to share the appeal.
Friends of Ephraim Mbemba posted a photo of him, as did friends of Tristan Pidoux and Guillaume Oana with the words: “My friends disappeared yesterday. If you have any news or have seen them, please contact us. Please share this story as much as possible.”
The painstaking task of identifying victims has begun. Many of the victims were so badly burnt that authorities said it could take days to establish identities.
The majority of victims were young people. Four minors are being treated at Zurich Children’s Hospital.
“These are young patients. On average, they are between 16 and 26 years old,” said Claire Charmet, Director of Lausanne University Hospital.
Footballer Tahirys Dos Santos, who plays for FC Metz, is one of the victims in the hospital.
His agent Christophe Hutteau said: “I can’t tell you he’s doing well, because he’s suffering terribly. He has burns covering 30% of his body.”
He has been airlifted to Stuttgart, Germany, where he is being treated in a specialised burn unit.
“The positive point is that his breathing capacity has greatly improved since yesterday morning, even though his lungs were affected.”
Teen survivor ran back into flames to save victims
EXCLUSIVE by Paul Sims, Special Correspondent
A TEEN survivor of the tragic Swiss bar blaze has revealed how he ran back inside to save trapped victims of the massacre that killed 40 people.
Student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, 19, was partying with seven pals – including his brother and girlfriend – inside Le Constellation when it went up in flames in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana.
As the fire tore through the venue, Ferdinand fought through the surging flames and made for a narrow staircase before scrambling to safety.
The teen, who was holidaying with family in the Alps, told The Sun: “I took my girlfriend’s arm, and I screamed to everyone, ‘get out’.
“There were so many people on the stairs trying to get out that I lost her arm. I reached the top of the stairs but fell to the ground.”
But Ferdinand refused to leave his friends and brother to perish inside and ran back in to find them.
He added: “I was looking for my brother, my girlfriend and my friends. And I couldn’t think to let them stay in the fire when I was alive outside.”
Read the full story here…
Police commander Frédéric Gisler confirmed the fire “started in the basement of the bar” and there was a crush as people desperately tried to get out via the single staircase.
Terrified New Year’s Eve revellers were “screaming and running” for their lives, as the inferno scorched the venue, burning alive many people trapped inside.
Experts are using dental and DNA records to try identify the deceased, but the severity of the burns is delaying identification, a European official has said.
Swiss cops set to launch criminal probe into deadly blaze.
Survivors, some as young as 15, have been taken to hospitals across Switzerland and abroad to France, Germany and Belgium.
It comes as the first victim of the tragedy has been identified as an Italian teen golfer, Emanuele Galeppini.
The Italian Golf Federation announced the death of 16-year-old Galeppini, saying it mourned the death of a “young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values”.
Families are now facing an “unbearable” wait for victims to be identified after officials said the process will “take time” – and potentially last several days.
A despairing mother was looking for her teenage son and nine school friends who were still missing.
Laetitia Brodard said she had not seen Arthur Brodard, 16, since the tragic night.
She said: “He was looking forward to celebrating New Year’s Eve with his school friends at the resort and in this bar.
“They had made plans and reserved a table in advance. Of the 11 people at that table, only one has been found, and all the others are missing.”