Switzerland Mourns 40 Fire Victims as Country Seeks Answers

EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib writes in a memorial book ahead of a tribute ceremony for the victims of the fire, in Martigny, on Jan. 9. — EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib writes in a memorial book ahead of a tribute ceremony for the victims of the fire, in Martigny, on Jan. 9.
Photographer: Pierre Albouy/AFP/Getty Images

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By Jan-Henrik Foerster, Hugo Miller, and Isabel Demetz

January 9, 2026 at 11:48 AM UTC

Updated on

January 9, 2026 at 3:30 PM UTC

With flags already at half-mast across Switzerland, a chorus of church bells rang out in churches across Switzerland at 2 p.m. Friday in memory of the 40 victims of a deadly fire in the mountain resort of Crans-Montana.

It was part of a memorial ceremony for the victims taking place in the nearby town of Martigny. Crans-Montana, in the French-speaking south west of the country, was blanketed in heavy snow, and television footage showed people gathered in the streets to watch a broadcast of the event.