GENEVA – A tragic fire at a New Year’s celebration in a bar resulted in 40 fatalities and more than 100 injuries, with local authorities revealing on Tuesday that fire safety inspections had not been conducted for several years.

Investigators suspect that the blaze at Le Constellation, located in the resort town of Crans-Montana, was sparked by festive sparkling candles placed on Champagne bottles. These candles reportedly got too close to the ceiling. Officials are examining if the ceiling’s soundproofing material adhered to safety regulations and whether the candles were approved for use in the venue.

In response, Swiss authorities have launched a criminal investigation targeting the bar’s managers. They are being investigated for charges including involuntary homicide, unintentional bodily harm, and accidental fire-setting, as stated by the chief prosecutor of the Valais region.

Responsibility for safety inspections lies with the municipality, according to regional officials. On Tuesday, Nicolas Féraud, head of Crans-Montana’s municipal government, disclosed that inspections of Le Constellation had been conducted up until 2019.

However, during a press conference, Féraud revealed that a review of records following the incident showed that “periodic checks were not carried out between 2020 and 2025.” This lapse in oversight has raised significant concerns.

“We regret this bitterly,” he said, adding that it will be up to judicial authorities to determine what influence that may have had on the chain of events that led to the fire.

Féraud said he couldn’t immediately explain why safety inspections hadn’t been conducted for such a long time.

He said that, in September last year, an external expert had been asked to carry out a soundproofing analysis and had concluded that the bar complied with anti-noise rules, without making further remarks.

The severity of burns made it difficult to identify some victims of the fire that broke out at about 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples.

Investigators finished identifying the 40 dead on Sunday and said on Monday that they had identified all 116 people who were injured.