Hundreds of people gathered silently on a cold evening in Crans-Montana on Thursday night to lay flowers and light candles to celebrate the New Year in memory of those killed and injured in the horrific fire.
About 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a fire broke out in the crowded Le Constellation bar around 1:30 am (0030 GMT).
The atmosphere among those who came to mourn was deathly silent.
Many of those who stood motionless overlooking the scene of the tragedy knew people who were missing or seriously injured.
There were whispers, if anything. The only sound came from the hum of a generator next to a makeshift white tent outside the bar.
A young mourner named Orostevich said: “I was not present personally, but many of my friends and relatives were.”
“Some people died, others are in hospital. About ten people,” he told AFP.
“Most of them were friends of my parents, but I knew them well.”
Orostevich said he bought flowers “as a small tribute.”
“May they rest in peace.”
– shocked –
Nearby, some friends hugged each other, sobbing and distraught.
Fathers extended a guiding hand to their young sons. Young people hugged each other when meeting their friends. People cried, hugged, held hands.
The men stood there, staring straight ahead with shocked, wet eyes.
“My son is probably there. He’s not far away,” Paul Markins, who has lived in the area for 24 years, told AFP.
“He was with his girlfriend; they were supposed to go in. But in the end, they couldn’t,” he said.
“When he got home he was really shocked.”
A friend of his 17-year-old son, who suffered burns to 30% of his body, has been transferred to Germany for treatment.
Mourners laid tributes on makeshift tables at the entrance to the pub, which was blocked from view by a white screen.
Two police officers stood guard outside the cordon.
A steady stream of people brought candles and flowers; sometimes a single rose, sometimes a large bouquet.
As the tables filled up, people began placing candles on the frozen ground.
Several groups of young people looked very sad. They held each other’s hands and looked into each other’s eyes, searching for words.
Some of those gathered could barely express their emotions.
Several young women stood for a long time holding bouquets of flowers, mustering up the courage to walk through the crowd to the dining table.
One of the women, who asked not to be named, said: “There are dead and injured, people close to us are still missing. We have no news about them.”
After laying flowers, they walked away arm in arm.
“They are young people and people we know,” said another woman who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Asked if she knew what happened to them, she said: “Some, no. Some, we’re still waiting.”
– pain –
The town’s Christmas lights are still twinkling, but several pubs have closed out of respect.
Earlier, a Mass at Montana Station Church commemorated those who lost their lives.
Somber organ music plays. Later, people gathered outside to express their thoughts, some walking away in tears.
“There were a lot of people, a lot of solemnity, and a beautiful sermon about hope. Let us at least have this: hope,” said Jean-Claude of a local church.
One young man, almost speechless with emotion, said: “We just knew a lot of friends of friends who were there. We pay our respects to them.”
“This could have been my son, simple,” one mourner, Mina, said through tears.
“Last night, it was just a coincidence that he was not there,” she told AFP.
“He knew a waitress who had been serving him and he was very friendly to her and unfortunately she’s gone.”
Veronica, an elderly Italian mourner who has lived in Crans-Montana for 40 years, wiped tears from her cheeks.
“Other people’s pain is everyone’s pain,” she said.
rjm/nl/gv