Ruth Sherlock
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
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.
During the Mass, Pope Leo blessed the faithful.
In this first Christmas Day message, he highlighted the plight of those caught in war in Gaza and of refugees and the displaced.
He spoke of young people conscripted into militaries who, quote, "...on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths."
He said peace is possible and urged people not to remain cold to people's suffering because, he said, when the fragility of others penetrates our hearts, when their pain shatters our rigid certainties, then peace has already begun.
The non-profit search and rescue group Sea Watch posts on X that a crowded wooden boat has disappeared into the Mediterranean Sea.
Alarm Phone, the volunteer organisation that runs an emergency hotline for migrants, says some 117 people were on board the boat that went missing after leaving Libyan shores for Europe on December 18th.
On December 21st, Alarm Phone says they were informed that a Tunisian fisherman had found a single survivor.
It's the latest tragedy on this dangerous route that people pay smugglers to take in the hope of finding a better life in Europe.