In Crans-Montana, there’s growing grief, anger, and uncertainty.
So many are like Lupo Guagliumi, still waiting to discover if friends survived. Praying for those he knows are fighting for their lives.
The Italian teenager was in Le Constellation on New Year’s Eve, fortunately leaving just before the fire because some friends wanted to go to another party.
He returned to find a scene of horror.
“We were heading back, and we heard what happened, so we rushed over,” Guagliumi told Sky News.
“We saw terrible things… we saw flames. Unfortunately, bodies on the floor, people screaming and then police came.”
He wanted to help but was ordered back.
“It was traumatising because I had some friends in there and some of them were not answering the phone,” he said.
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Lost friends
Three friends, he believes, are in intensive care, badly burned after being placed in an induced coma. At least five others are in hospital with lesser burns that are still severe.
“Some are lost, and we don’t know where they are. I tried texting them, calling them, they’re not answering. So maybe around 10-15 people,” he said.
“Not knowing where they are, if they maybe passed, or if they’re in a hospital somewhere, not being able to be recognised or IDed.”
‘The worst thing that could’ve happened’
It is an agonising position to be in as a 15-year-old who has been coming on holiday from Milan to this resort in the Swiss Alps over the last decade with his family, often three times a year.
Drinking is allowed from the age of 16 in Switzerland, and Le Constellation is believed to have been packed with teenagers to bring in 2026.
Guagliumi had also been there the previous night and shared a photo he took of sparklers in the basement bar.
There was no fear at the time about the dangers they posed; now being blamed for igniting the inferno after being raised in champagne bottles too close to the ceiling.
“It was the worst thing that could have happened on New Year’s,” he said. “It’s hard to know Crans-Montana is now associated with this.”
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His voice trails, becoming emotional about the resort that brought so much joy now being scarred by trauma, tragedy, and the torment of still not knowing the fate of loved ones.
“I could have stayed there,” he said. “It’s very scary, seeing as though it could have happened to me as well.”
