Could 'Murder with Probable Intent' Be Applied?... Emergency Exit Was Locked During Swiss Fire Tragedy

It has been confirmed that the basement emergency exit of the Swiss bar where a fire on New Year's Day resulted in 40 deaths and 116 injuries was locked from the inside, preventing victims from escaping.

The bar Le Constellation where the fire disaster occurred. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Swiss public broadcaster RTS and other local media on January 10 (local time), Jacques Moretti, co-owner of Le Constellation, the bar in Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland where the disaster occurred, testified to the Valais public prosecutor investigating the incident that the exit was locked from the inside.

Moretti, who acquired and has been operating the bar with his wife for over a decade, was arrested on January 9 and is currently in custody. He told investigators that upon hearing about the fire and arriving at the scene, he discovered the door was locked from the inside. After forcibly opening the door from the outside and entering, he found several people collapsed and dead behind the door.

Euronews, a European news outlet, reported that if the authorities determine that Moretti and his wife bear partial responsibility for the locked exit, they could face up to 20 years in prison for murder with probable intent.

The fire is believed to have been caused when sparks from a handheld firework attached to a champagne bottle reached the ceiling, igniting the soundproofing material and causing the flames to spread rapidly, which exacerbated the damage.