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The ceiling in "Le Constellation" caught fire within seconds: 41 people died in the disaster on New Year's Eve.
Bild: X
A survivor of the deadly fire disaster in Crans-Montana describes the horror of the night: flames, screams, burnt bodies. The physical and psychological scars remain with him to this day.
"It was terrible. Inside you could hear screams, cries for help. The smell of burnt flesh. A smell that still lingers in my nostrils to this day", an 18-year-old told RSI about the horror of New Year's Eve in Crans-Montana. The fire in the "Le Constellation" bar killed 41 people, most of them young, and 115 people were injured, some of them seriously.
The drama of that night continues to haunt the young man. He still remembers the catastrophe very well. "Someone came up the stairs, the flames had enveloped him. He shouted: 'Get out, there's a fire!" But it was impossible to escape because there were already too many people in the hallway.
He only survived because someone pulled him out from under a pile of corpses by his hand. "It's terrible to say this, but the people above me burned to death in my place," says the burn victim.
The 18-year-old was admitted to hospital in Sion with second-degree burns to his face, neck and ears. He underwent several operations in the first week after the accident, an extremely painful process, he reports.
In addition to skin grafts, burn victims need occupational therapy and psychological support. A man who suffered severe burns to 75 percent of his body six years ago told RSI how difficult the road to recovery is. His chance of survival was just 15 percent.
It took four and a half months, half of it in an induced coma, and 41 operations to save the man's life. However, he was not healed immediately: "The worst moment was when I woke up from my coma and saw myself in the mirror for the first time."
The psychological trauma is also serious for the 18-year-old. "I constantly smell something burning." And if he manages to get his psychological problems under control after therapy, he will still be left with scars that will remind him of the events in Crans-Montana for the rest of his life.
