New Year's Eve shock in Saas-Fee Fireworks claim victims - now a father is suing the municipality
On New Year's Eve, a firework explodes on the village square in Saas-Fee, injuring four people. Now the father of one of the victims is speaking out: he is taking the organizers and the police to court.
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- The New Year's Eve party on the village square in Saas Fee in Valais ended with four people injured.
- At least one victim is still suffering from the consequences of a firecracker throw.
- The father made strong accusations against the organizers and the mayor: he reported the youth club, the municipality, the canton and the police for serious negligence.
Four people were injured, including a 14-year-old girl who had to be taken to hospital with severe burns: on New Year's Eve, a firework exploded on the village square in Saas-Fee shortly before midnight. The suspected perpetrator, an 18-year-old Swiss man, was quickly caught. But the incident now has legal repercussions for the organizers and the mayor.
The father of one of the victims has spoken out in the "Walliser Bote" newspaper. His 26-year-old daughter has been on sick leave since the incident. "She can only walk to a very limited extent, the injuries are serious. Her health is severely impaired", he is quoted as saying.
Father of one victim sues the municipality, police and canton
While the victim does not want to talk about what happened, her father is making serious accusations: the event was approved without an adequate safety concept. "It is negligent that fireworks could be set off on the village square", the man believes and has filed several complaints.
The complaints are directed against the youth association as the organizer, the municipality of Saas-Fee, the mayor Stefan Zurbriggen, the Saas-Fee police and the canton of Valais. They all bear "responsibility for what they did not arrange". In his opinion, the risks could have been minimized with a comprehensive safety concept.
For the father, it is clear: "There were no clear measures to prevent danger, no supervision by the municipality and no recognizable safety check by the cantonal authorities." The fact that the mayor appealed for more personal responsibility after the incident and distanced himself from bans or restrictions further disturbs the father of the injured woman.
Citizens collect 200 signatures for fireworks ban
He is particularly disappointed "that the mayor didn't even have the courage to contact my daughter to simply ask how she was doing." He is now calling for a criminal investigation into the incidents and wants the fundamental question of whether a municipality can approve an event without an adequate safety concept. Municipal president Zurbriggen did not wish to comment on the new developments to the "Walliser Bote", but deeply regrets that injuries were sustained in the "tragic accident".
The father of the injured woman is not alone in his criticism of the event. Over the past few weeks, an initiative has collected 200 signatures calling for fireworks in the Saas Valley on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to only be set off "in a targeted and organized manner by specialists" in future. According to the initiators, the number of signatures shows that their request is of broad public interest.
