AN EERIE promo video from the Swiss nightclub where at least 47 people died showed staff parading flaming champagne bottles through packed crowds.
Bottle service waitresses, donning bizarre neon motorcycle helmets, can be seen carrying sparkling candles in glass bottles to tables of revellers, in advertising material released by Le Constellation.
Devastatingly, authorities have confirmed at least 47 people died and 115 injured after a horror blaze ripped through the packed tourist bar in Crans-Montana, Valais, on New Year’s Day.
The upscale bar promoted the flashy bottle service online in a short video with the caption: “The Constellation Crans-Montana welcomes you every day from 9am to 2am, 365 days a year without interruption”.
The chilling footage shows young staff and guests partying in the basement of the bar under flashing lights, pyrotechnics and dry ice.
A fire was first reported at 1.30am local time (12.30am UK time) after locals noticed smoke coming from the venue.
Emergency services quickly arrived at the scene and helped treat dozens of victims fleeing the inferno – with plumes of smoke seen billowing from the building.
Shocking footage appeared to show the moment the fire took hold at Le Constellation Bar after the ceiling was set ablaze.
Terrified witnesses believe the deadly fire was sparked by champagne sparklers which set fire to the roof of the packed venue.
Two young French women said waiters had been carrying bottles with sparklers inside and the bar quickly ignited after one touched the ceiling.
One of the French witnesses told BFM TV: “During the evening, a waiter climbed onto another waiter’s shoulders. He was holding a birthday candle, which was very close to the ceiling, and [the ceiling] caught fire.
“In a few dozen seconds, the whole ceiling was on fire. Everything was made of wood.”
Another witness, identified only as Emma, told BFM it was only a matter of “seconds” before the whole ceiling was in flames.
“We ran outside, screaming and crying,” she said.
It is understood the fire sparked a “flashover” blast – triggered by a surge in the temperature of the air – as the flames ripped through the wooden ceiling of the bar.
A local police spokesman confirmed that “dozens of pyrotechnic devices in bottles” lined tables in the basement of the bar.
As the fire took hold, revellers ran to the single narrow staircase exit to try and escape the inferno, partygoers said.
They were “thrown down the stairs” by a surge of the crowd – and others frantically smashed through windows to get out of the venue.
Victoria, a survivortold BFM all the windows were “black and opaque with smoke” and people broke windows to let in air.
“Many of the victims must have suffocated,” she said.
Tim Steffens, a 19-year-old ski ski instructor who witnessed the blaze, described scenes of panic as the fire broke out.
“Everyone was pushing and shoving their way out of the stairwell,” he said.
“It was awful. They were all burned. Their clothes were burned away. It really wasn’t a pretty sight. The screams… not pretty, not pretty.”
A police spokesperson said the venue was licensed for 300 people inside, and 40 on an outside terrace, where smoking was permitted.
Eyewitness Bastien Frema, 20, said: “People were screaming. I saw people with burnt clothing shredded, hanging off them.
“People were yelling, trying to get help. We couldn’t do anything.”
Another said: “It was mayhem. People were so badly burned. No one knew what was happening.”
But one brave eyewitness told the BBC how he instantly sprinted over to the venue as smoke was billowing into the night sky.
Dozens of firefighters quickly arrived on the scene as they took over the rescue operation.
The man refused to leave and stayed to help by offering out water and clothes to the injured – including passing on his own jacket to one of the wounded.
When asked about his heroics, the witness said he was scared his little brother may have been trapped inside.
“It’s very disturbing because I went in this bar every day in the week… just the day I don’t go, it burned,” he added.
It comes as a survivor has also spoken out as he tragically revealed his friends haven’t been seen or heard from since the fire.
He said: “We were trapped, a lot of people were trapped. We couldn’t see because of the smoke. We didn’t know how we were going to get out.
“I was alone and didn’t know how I could do it, but I managed to break a window and get out through the window. Half of my clothes were gone, it was crazy.
“I was in the basement. Me and my friends were having fun, unfortunately some of our friends are no longer with us because of the fire.
“It was crazy. People were trapped. I had to put a table up to hide behind it, trapped by the blaze. But I got out. That’s the main thing.”