Disturbing CCTV footage has emerged from two weeks before the devastating Swiss nightclub fire in Crans-Montana, revealing shocking safety failures at the establishment. The video evidence shows a chair deliberately wedged against an emergency exit door, while employees can be seen using pool cues to prop up drooping insulation foam panels on the ceiling.
Owners Blame Young Staff for Catastrophe
The footage comes as the owners of Le Constellation bar, Jacques Moretti, 49, and his wife Jessica Moretti, 40, face serious criminal charges while attempting to shift responsibility onto their young staff members. Swiss prosecutors have charged the couple with negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and negligent arson following the New Year's Eve inferno that claimed 40 lives and injured over 100 people.
Video Evidence Shows Dangerous Practices
A video released by French television channel France 2 provides damning visual evidence of the safety lapses that preceded the tragedy. The footage clearly shows a staff member at the nightclub pushing drooping insulation panels back into place using pool cues and paper towels, while another image reveals a chair propped against a crucial emergency exit.
In one particularly revealing clip, employee Gaëtan Thomas-Gilbert records the makeshift repairs and sends the video to owner Jacques Moretti, who responds: "Yeah, that looks OK. Take the others off, please." Thomas-Gilbert, who sustained severe injuries in the fire, had previously expressed safety concerns about the bar to his father and was planning to resign before the disaster occurred.
Defence Strategy Focuses on Blaming Deceased Waitress
During approximately twenty hours of interrogation by three prosecutors, the Morettis' defence strategy centered particularly on blaming waitress Cyane Panine, 24, who perished in the blaze. The owners claimed Panine climbed onto the shoulders of a colleague while brandishing two champagne bottles containing lit sparklers, allegedly igniting the highly flammable foam covering the basement ceiling.
Owners' Testimony Raises Questions
Jacques Moretti told the enquiry that the champagne sparklers stunt was "Cyane's show," stating: "I didn't forbid her from doing that. I didn't make her pay attention to safety instructions. We didn't see the danger. Cyane liked doing that – it was a show, she liked to be part of the show."
Jessica Moretti, speaking at the same hearing on January 20, supported this narrative: "Cyane liked to deliver these bottles – she did it of her own accord. If I had thought there was the slightest risk, I would have forbidden it. In ten years of running the business, I never thought there could be any danger."
Survivors and Family Members Challenge Owners' Account
Cyane Panine's family and survivors of the blaze have vehemently denied the Morettis' claims, presenting a contradictory version of events. Witnesses assert that it was Jessica Moretti who sent Cyane out with the bottles and encouraged her to perform the stunt using a promotional crash helmet provided by Dom Perignon champagne.
Fire Safety Training Revealed as Inadequate
Regarding fire safety protocols, Jacques Moretti admitted: "There was no training, but employees were told what steps to take in case of fire when they were shown around the premises." He outlined the basic instructions given to staff: "Evacuate the customers, raise the alarm, and call the fire department. And of course, if they had time, use the fire extinguishers to put out the fire."
When confronted with testimony from an employee identified only as "L," who stated he had no knowledge of the fire extinguishers' locations, Jacques Moretti responded: "The staff has several shifts, and maybe I forgot to give this information to L, but it was going to be passed on at some point. Maybe I forgot."
Conflicting Accounts of Locked Emergency Door
Both Morettis also blamed an unidentified staff member for locking an escape door in the basement, with Jessica Moretti telling the enquiry: "The door was always open. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wonder why that door was closed that night. We always said that the door was always open, and it was taken for granted."
Jacques Moretti elaborated: "After the tragedy, we learned that an employee delivered ice cubes to the Constellation and, without understanding why, closed the latch at the top of the door." He revealed sending a text message to this employee stating: "You shouldn't run away, you should stay here and take responsibility."
The staff member in question, when contacted by Le Parisien, strongly denied any wrongdoing, asserting: "I didn't close a door that was already locked."
Questions About Approved Renovations
Regarding the highly flammable foam insulation installed during 2015 renovations, Jacques Moretti claimed: "The fire chief and the fire captain approved it." This statement raises significant questions about the approval process for materials used in public entertainment venues and whether proper safety standards were followed during the bar's refurbishment.
The emerging evidence from CCTV footage, combined with conflicting testimonies from owners, staff, and survivors, paints a complex picture of systemic safety failures that contributed to one of Switzerland's deadliest nightclub disasters in recent history.
