They came to Crans-Montana for fireworks and champagne, not body bags and blackened walls. Survivors describe a blur of heat, darkness, and crushing bodies as the bar transformed into a lethal maze. Some clawed their way toward exits they could no longer see; others never made it past the doorway. Outside, the cold mountain air filled with the sounds of sirens, sobs, and unanswered phone calls.

As dawn broke over the Alps, the resort’s glittering image shattered. Forty lives were gone, families frozen in shock, and a community asking how a night so carefully planned could end in such preventable horror. Investigators now sift through twisted metal and charred debris, searching for the spark, the failure, the decision that turned a celebration into one of the region’s deadliest nights. For those left behind, New Year’s will forever mean absence, silence, and a countdown that never truly ended.