[Charlotte Niddam/TikTok]
A former pupil of two British schools has been identified as one of the victims who died in a fire at a Swiss ski resort.
Charlotte Needham’s family announced her death “with great sadness” in a social media post and said details of her funeral would be arranged in due course. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also confirmed the news in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Swiss officials said on Sunday they had identified all 40 victims of a New Year’s Day bar fire in Crans-Montana.
Charlotte, now 15, is believed to have attended Emmanuel College, a private school in Hertfordshire, and the Jewish Free School in north-west London.
Charlotte’s family wrote in a statement on Facebook: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful daughter and sister Charlotte.
“Details of funeral arrangements will be announced soon. It is most likely to take place in Paris on Thursday.
“Thank you everyone for your support these days.”
According to the Crans Montana resort website, Charlotte had been working as a nanny in the area.
Yvette Cooper said it was “terrible news” that Charlotte had been identified as one of the victims of the fire.
She wrote on X: “My thoughts are with all her family and friends following this devastating loss.”
After the fire, Emmanuel College said it was “praying for a miracle.”
Swiss President Guy Parmelin called the fire “one of the worst tragedies” the country has experienced.
A fire broke out in the basement area of Le Constellation bar in the Crans-Montana resort in the early hours of Thursday morning, and the bar was packed with Swiss and tourists celebrating New Year’s Day.
Prosecutors said that based on a preliminary investigation, the possible cause of the fire was that sparklers on champagne bottles were “too close to the ceiling.”
Valais canton Attorney General Beatrice Pillou said an investigation into the cause of the fire would focus on the materials used at the scene, the bar’s fire safety measures, its capacity and the number of people inside the bar at the time.
On Sunday, police in canton Valais said all the victims had been identified and ranged in age from 14 to 39.
The victims came from seven countries, some with multiple nationalities.
Swiss police said one of the identified victims was a 15-year-old teenager with triple nationality of France, Israel and the United Kingdom.
Other nationalities include Portuguese, Romanian, Belgian, French, Italian and Swiss.
A further 35 people injured in the fire have been transferred to specialist burns centers outside Switzerland as the country grapples with the tragedy on a massive scale.