The French owners of a Swiss ski resort bar where a fire killed 40 people will be questioned by prosecutors as the investigation into the New Year’s Eve tragedy continues.
CRANS-MONTANA: The French owners of a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana will be questioned by prosecutors on Friday.
Jacques and Jessica Moretti, who owned and managed the Le Constellation bar, face charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
The blaze erupted at around 1:30 am on January 1 in the bar’s basement.
Prosecutors believe it started when champagne bottles with sparklers were raised too close to sound insulation foam on the ceiling.
Forty people, most of them teenagers, were killed in the fire.
A further 116 people were injured.
In a statement on Tuesday, the couple said they were “devastated and overwhelmed with grief” and pledged their “full cooperation” with investigators.
“We will under no circumstances attempt to evade these matters,” they said.
Municipal authorities acknowledged this week that no fire safety inspections had been conducted at the bar since 2019.
Questions have also been raised about the couple’s background.
Sources close to the case say Jacques Moretti was known to French justice for procuring and had served jail time.
Lawyers for victims’ families welcomed the news of the upcoming questioning.
Sebastien Fanti, representing four families, said he hoped it signalled “a welcome resurgence of the investigation”.
Another lawyer, Romain Jordan, said establishing the defendants’ personal and economic situation was essential.
The public prosecutor’s office in Sion will question the couple, who have not been detained.
This marks their first interrogation since charges were announced on Saturday.
Once the investigation concludes, prosecutors will determine whether to formally indict the pair or close the case.
