Crans-Montana: Witnesses detail horrific ordeal of ski resort fire which killed 40 and injured 100

Eyewitness accounts of a terrifying ski resort fire which claimed dozens of lives have revealed harrowing details of the ordeal.

Le Constellation bar, part of luxury Swiss ski resort Crans-Montana, suddenly erupted into flames at about 1.30am on New Year’s Day.

About 40 people were killed in the inferno that left more than 100 others injured, some severely burned, leaving local hospitals overwhelmed.

Laetitia Place, 17, described the terror she experienced before narrowly escaping the deadly blaze.

“We all saw really horrible things that no one should ever have to see,” she told Reuters.

“There’s the small door where everyone was pushing, and so we all fell, we were piled on top of each other, some people were burning, and some were dead next to us.

“I was so scared — scared for myself, scared for my friends, scared for everyone inside.”

Samuel Rapp, who was at a restaurant near the bar described the scene as “horrible”.

“There were a lot of people at the entry trying to escape. And it was full and people (were) walking on everybody trying to escape,” he told Sky News.

“A lot of people were screaming trying to escape and I saw a lot of people on the floor.”

It is understood that there was only one entry and exit to the underground bar, which was filled with people predominantly aged between 15 and 20.

As people spilled out onto the street, Mr Rapp saw one person cover the face of a victim with a jacket. He also saw multiple people with their hair burned off and missing clothes.

Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris was inside Le Constellation when the fire broke out.

He told AP the bar descended into “total chaos”. He had hidden behind a table, but was suffocating from the fumes. He then decided to run upstairs and broke through a window which allowed him to escape.

One of Axel’s friends was killed in the fire, and he said two or three others were still missing.

Nathan, speaking alongside Axel, said the seriousness of the blaze was not immediately clear, and there were no emergency exits.

Dominic Dubois, who had been walking to Le Constellation, saw the flames still burning as the disaster unfolded.

“You could see the orange, yellow and red,” he told Reuters.

“They don’t want civilians getting in the way, but many were able to help, carrying, I don’t want to say corpses.

“The main problem was the temperature shock, from the heat inside to the cold outside.

“One of the priorities was to get everyone warm.”

Swiss authorities have launched an investigation into the blaze which some witnesses believe was caused by a sparkler.

Witnesses reported seeing a female bartender holding a champagne bottle with a sparkler inside it while sitting on the shoulders of a male bartender.

They say the woman held it up to the ceiling, which then erupted into flames.

Police have said there is no indication that the fire was a terror attack, and confirmed the blaze was not caused by an explosive device.