A courageous student has described scenes resembling a 'war zone' as he repeatedly ran back into a burning Swiss bar in a desperate bid to rescue fellow revellers on New Year's Eve.
A Night of Celebration Turns to Terror
Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, 19, was celebrating inside the Le Constellation bar in Switzerland with six companions, including his brother and girlfriend, when the fire erupted around 1:30am. The Munich University finance and economics student has now returned to the scene, giving a remarkable testimony of the horrific events.
He described the fire's origin, recalling a waitress carrying champagne bottles near the roof, which was constructed from insulating foam. "I saw the roof take fire and I went under the bar," Ferdinand explained. He found water in a mini-fridge but by the time he threw it, the flames had already engulfed the entire ceiling.
Desperate Escape and Heroic Return
His first instinct was to grab his girlfriend and shout for others to evacuate. In the chaotic stampede on the stairs, he lost hold of her and fell. "My first reflex was to cover my face with my arms and I closed my eyes," he said. He believes someone then opened the front door, which caused a deadly backdraft. "This led to lots of air getting inside... and the fire turned into a fireball. I felt this fireball over my head, slightly burned my neck."
In a final act of desperation, he used a table leg to pull himself out. Despite his narrow escape, the young man from Paris immediately went back inside the inferno. "I couldn't think to let them stay in the fire when I was alive outside," he stated.
He managed to find one unconscious person and drag them to safety, but subsequent attempts were thwarted by intense smoke. "There was too much smoke and I couldn't breathe," he recounted. Outside, he found friends severely burned and in shock. The scene was apocalyptic. "It was terrifying. It felt like a war scene. I saw people, burned people on the ground."
Aftermath and Anxious Vigil
One of the most harrowing moments came when he discovered another victim on 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," he said, describing the struggle to move the lifeless body.
Emergency services directed survivors to a nearby café, where the injured were triaged. Ferdinand's brother was treated by a bar employee before being taken to hospital, where he remains in a coma. Other friends are now conscious but in pain.
Ferdinand and a less-injured friend were transported to a sports centre near Arnouva, which was converted into a makeshift field hospital. There, they assisted emergency workers by distributing water and sugar to other survivors until proper medics arrived.
"I'm praying for my brother," Ferdinand said, holding vigil for his sibling while grappling with the trauma of a night that turned from celebration into catastrophe.
