Switzerland ski resort fire: Aussies and survivors ‘traumatised’ after young friends killed in blaze

Australians are among the many paying tribute to the victims of a deadly Swiss ski resort fire.

A memorial site has been set up after the Le Constellation bar at the Crans-Montana caught fire during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Aussie tells of harrowing scenes as dozens killed in ski resort fire

With the drinking age in Switzerland being 16, and the bar attracting young crowds, many of the 40 people killed and 119 injured were teenagers and young adults.

“I had two friends that were there,” one Australian girl told reporters as she laid flowers on a memorial site.

“One, we learnt today, is dead. I’m shocked. I can’t really imagine that she’s really gone.”

Her two friends were at the bar together, and she says there is no word yet whether the second survived.

Another Australian, Yaron Lavy, whose family moved to Switzerland six years ago, told Sunrise two of his friends had been at Le Constellation.

He had been invited to come along, but declined his friends’ invitation to join the table they had booked for New year’s Eve.

Lavy rushed to the ski resort as soon as he learned of the tragedy.

“I was just standing in front of the tape. Shocked, traumatised. Just hoping for my friends to come out alive,” he said.

“I couldn’t move, I just couldn’t feel anything in my body anymore.

“I had friends in there. Some are still reported missing, some are in hospital.”

He described one of them, his sister’s best friend, as being “full of joy” and recalled celebrating her 16th birthday.

Yaron like many others is still waiting on information about how and where his friends are, after the staggering volume of victims were sent to a wide range of hospitals for treatment.

“I’d just like to hear ... just something, just a small piece of information, not even something big. If I know which hospital they’re in or if I just know in which state they are, that would be amazing.”

Authorities are urging loved ones to stay away from emergency departments for now, as the magnitude of the tragedy puts a strain on medical staff.

Survivor on moment ‘hell’ erupted

One 17-year-old patron at the bar on the night of the tragedy, Ebenezer Mehari, was outside taking a breather when the fire broke out.

As he turned to go back inside, he said: “I heard a big boom, and everybody was screaming.”

He said it was like “hell” had erupted.

Mehari described thick smoke enveloping the venue, blinding him.

He fell to the ground as people rushed to escape the bar, before a man pulled him away to safety, he said.

“I have four friends who died,” he said.

He is still struggling to process the loss. “For me, it’s not real,” he said.

Mehari, who has lived in the area for 15 years, said he saw someone he knew from school disfigured and burning, and others whose hair and clothes had burned off.

“Somebody was dying in front of me and I couldn’t do anything,” he said. “Her face was so burned it was red.”

Mehari was among survivors taken to a hospital ward in Sion, where he was offered mental health assistance.

“I tried to sleep, but I can’t,” he said.

Teen describes narrow exit and horrific scenes

Another 17-year-old girl who was at Le Constellation, Laetitia Place, said many young patrons had to scramble through a narrow exit to leave the venue.

“There’s the small door where everyone was pushing, and so we all fell,” Place said.

“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.

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

- With NBC and Reuters