BBC Breakfast presenters delivered a sombre start to 2026 this morning, sharing devastating updates on a fatal fire in Switzerland that has claimed dozens of lives and left over a hundred people severely injured.
A 'Fierce' New Year's Tragedy in Crans-Montana
Hosts Roger Johnson and Rachel Burden reported on Saturday, January 3, that a 'fierce' fire erupted at the Le Constellation bar in the popular Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana on New Year's Day. The basement blaze, which occurred in the early hours, was reportedly packed with both locals and tourists celebrating.
Roger Johnson provided a crucial update on the suspected cause, stating: "Officials in Switzerland say that they believe a fire at a bar which killed 40 people and injured over 100 more on New Year's Eve was caused by sparklers in champagne bottles."
Agonising Wait for Families and a Teenager's Harrowing Escape
Reporting from Switzerland, BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford described a scene of mourning, with footage showing people laying flowers and lighting candles for the victims. She sombrely explained the painstaking identification process, noting the severe burns sustained made it "very complicated to identify them."
"In the meantime, there are lots of families waiting for answers," Rainsford shared, highlighting the agony for relatives hoping their loved ones might be among the injured but unidentified in hospital.
The report then featured an emotional interview with a teenager named Ferdinand, who was inside the bar during the inferno. He recounted his terrifying experience: "I felt all the fire pass over my head. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again, I couldn't breathe. Because the fire was taking all of the air, I clung to a table and managed to pull myself out."
Unanswered Questions in the Aftermath
Concluding the segment, Sarah Rainsford emphasised that significant questions remain unanswered. Authorities are investigating how the fire started exactly, why it spread with such ferocious speed, and whether any fire safety violations had been committed at the venue.
The tragic incident has cast a shadow over the new year, with the BBC Breakfast report ensuring the scale of the loss and the personal stories of survival reached a national audience. BBC Breakfast airs daily from 6am on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
