Ruth Sherlock

Another question is whether the bar was full beyond its capacity of 300 people that night.

So there is clearly lots here to look at in this investigation.

For now, though, officials say their priority is to identify the bodies of the victims, and they say that that itself could still take many weeks.

That is.

NPR's Ruth Sherlock.

Thank you so much.

Officials have not yet confirmed a cause for the fire.

Two women who escaped the club told French media that they saw a barman carrying a barmaid on his shoulders and that she'd been holding a champagne bottle with lit sparklers and that that had set fire to the wooden ceiling.

Videos on social media appear to show flames spreading above the bar.

And a YouTube video from 2024 posted by a channel with the bar's name shows women wearing motorcycle helmets and carrying bottles of alcohol topped with sparklers as they walk through the establishment.

Officials say they are opening an investigation and they haven't yet identified the cause of the fire.

They do say this was not a deliberate attack.

Two eyewitnesses told French media that waitresses had put what they described as birthday candles in champagne bottles and that had set the ceiling, which is made of wood, ablaze.

There's a video that shows on social media and it shows flames appearing to spread across the bar.

The Kranz Montana Resort is a famed luxury ski destination, but last night at the Constellation Bar during a crowded New Year's Eve celebration, tragedy unfolded.

Officials say the cause of the fire that ripped through the bar is not yet known.

Witnesses describe a crush of panicked people trying to climb the stairs to escape the basement nightclub.

Another witness saw people on the street outside with their clothes on fire.

Officials say there are so many injured that the intensive care unit and operating theatre at the regional hospital are full.

They warn it will take time to identify the dead, which may include people from several countries.