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Those who escaped of the devastating nightclub blaze in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana are receiving treatment in specialized trauma centers across Europe, while authorities say many of the deceased were so severely injured that identification could take days or weeks.

A Calamity of Unprecedented Proportions

About 40 people were killed and 115 hurt when the blaze ripped through a New Year’s Eve celebration in the packed Constellation bar and underground club.

“The first objective is to put names to all the victims,” said local official Nicolas Féraud.

The Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, described the fire “a disaster of unprecedented, terrifying proportions” as he outlined the heavy human cost. “Behind these figures are individuals, names, families, lives tragically ended, forever altered or irrevocably damaged,” Parmelin remarked at a news conference.

Gruelling Identification Process

So severe were the victims’ burns that Swiss officials said the process of identification was particularly gruelling. Families of unaccounted-for young people issued urgent appeals for news of their family members and foreign embassies scrambled to find out if their nationals were among those involved in one of the worst disasters to strike the country in recent memory.

Mathias Reynard, the head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental records and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the findings is so terrible and delicate that no detail can be told to the families unless we are completely certain,” he explained.

Hospitals Reach Capacity

Despite having one of the world’s most advanced medical systems, Switzerland’s local hospitals quickly became overwhelmed in the hours after the blaze. Over 30 people were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne and six were transferred to Geneva, as reported by news agencies.

Many more of the injured were flown to other countries including Belgium, France and Germany, while the EU confirmed it had been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated online he had offered his country’s assistance as clinics in Paris and Lyon admitted victims, while Sweden and North Macedonia also said they had medical capacity available.

A Multinational Tragedy

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are unaccounted for and Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland said the Italian foreign minister would travel to Crans-Montana.

Swiss officials have said approximately 40 people were killed but another nation has put the fatality count at 47, based on early data.

A regional health and safety official expressed surprise on Friday he was “taken aback” by the latter figure. “This is not the same number that we have,” he told a radio station.

The Italian ambassador said all but five of the injured had now been identified. Several Italians are still missing and more than a dozen hospitalised. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday with more to follow.

The French foreign ministry said several nationals were among the injured and additional individuals remained missing. Australia has said one of its nationals was injured.

Desperate Search for Loved Ones

Relatives and friends have been working desperately to find their loved ones, using social media to share images of those still missing.

Paulo Martins, a French citizen resident in the area for 24 years, said his son and his girlfriend just avoided being in the bar at the time of the fire. “When he came home he was really in shock,” Martins said.

A friend of his 17-year-old son had been evacuated for treatment in Germany with severe burns covering a third of his body, Martins added.

Eleonore, 17, started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since the fire. Standing outside the bar, now shielded by white tarpaulins and a wall of temporary fencing, she said she had not had contact with them since New Year’s Eve.

“We took many pictures [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” she said. “But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know.”

She and a friend managed to get news that one friend was in a medically induced unconsciousness in a hospital in Lausanne.

Treatment Will Be Lengthy

The director of the city’s university hospital, Claire Charmet, said it was treating 22 severely injured patients, most between 16 to 26.

“Patients are being medically stabilized and moved to the surgery or to intensive care units,” she told a local newspaper. “We need to be aware that the treatment will be long and intense, lasting many weeks or even months.”