Switzerland bar fire: Several dozen people presumed dead at New Year’s party at Crans-Montana ski resort | In photos

Several people have been killed and around 100 injured as a major fire broke out at a bar in the ski resort ‌of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland. The area has been cordoned off, and a no-fly ​zone has been imposed ⁠over Crans-Montana, police said in a statement early Thursday, according to Reuters.

Around 100 people have been injured in the fire that broke out in a bar in southwestern Switzerland. (Source: Sky News)

A no-fly ​zone has been imposed ⁠over Crans-Montana, police said. (Source: X user)

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

From left, Mathias Reynard, State Councillor and president of the Council of State of the Canton of Valais, Stephane Ganzer, State Councillor and head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport of the Canton of Valais and Frederic Gisler, Commander of the Valais Cantonal Police, during a press conference in Lens, following a fire that broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead. (AP Photo)

Officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge, leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland (AP Photo)

The injured have been shifted to hospitals and the intensive care unit, and the operating theatre at the regional hospital hit full capacity, according to regional councillor Mathias Renard.

Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage. (AP Photo)

The municipality had banned New Year’s Eve fireworks due to a lack of rainfall in the past month, according to its website.

A banner saying fireworks are prohibited due to the risk of fire near Le Constellation bar, where a fire broke out. (AP Photo)

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometres (81 miles) south of Zurich.

The area is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometres north of the Matterhorn. (AP Photo)

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.