Teen educated in UK confirmed dead after Swiss bar fire

A former pupil at a British school has been confirmed as one of the victims of a fire at a Swiss ski resort.

Dozens were killed and more than 100 people were injured in the fire, which broke out in the early hours of Thursday at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, as people celebrated the New Year.

Charlotte Niddam, believed to be 15, previously attended Immanuel College, a private school in Hertfordshire.

In a post on social media, her family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful daughter and sister, Charlotte.

“Details regarding the funeral arrangements will follow shortly. It is most likely on Thursday in Paris.

“Thank you for all your support those last few days.”

It comes as Swiss authorities said all 40 of the people who died in the fire have been identified. A number of the victims have been named but no further information will be released, police said.

Those who have been publicly identified include a young boxer named Benjamin Johnson, who “left us a hero, having come to the aid of his friend”, a social media post from the Swiss Boxing Federation said on Sunday.

Another teenager, Tristan Pidoux, has also been reported dead by a spokesperson for the family.

Italian 17-year-old Emanuele Galeppini, Italian 16-year-old Chiara Costanzo and Swiss 16-year-old Arthur Brodard have also been named.

Mourners attended a mass this morning at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe before joining the silent march up the hill to the Le Constellation bar, the site of the tragedy.

Emergency service workers were among those who gathered for the service – led by Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey of Sion – and left flowers at a makeshift memorial.

Hundreds of people followed the service on a screen installed outside the church.

During the mass, the Rev Gilles Cavin spoke of the “terrible uncertainty” for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive among the injured.

“We pray for their friends hard-hit by misery on this day that was meant to be one of festivities and friendship,” he said.

Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims had been difficult because of the severity of the blaze.

Earlier, Swiss police said 16 more victims had been identified – including several children.

These included an 18-year-old Swiss woman, two 15-year-old girls and a 14-year-old, and three Swiss men aged 31, 20 and 18, and a 17-year-old, and two 16-year-old boys.

Two 16-year-old Italians were also confirmed dead, a 16-year-old with dual nationality (Italy and the United Arab Emirates), an 18-year-old Romanian, a 39-year-old Frenchman, and an 18-year-old Turkish national.

Their bodies have been returned to their families, police added.

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Arthur Brodard, one of the victims, had reportedly joined around 10 of his friends at the bar on New Year’s Eve.

“Our Arthur has now left to party in paradise,” his mother Laetitia Brodard said in a Facebook story posted on Saturday night.

“We can start our mourning, knowing that he is in peace and in the light.”

She and her husband Christophe, who are from the Swiss city of Lausanne, had been among the families searching for their loved ones.

In her social media post, she thanked those who had shown “their compassion, their love” and had shared information as she anxiously searched and waited for news of her son.

Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.

Meanwhile, investigations are continuing into the cause of the fire, focusing on the champagne sparklers lit inside the bar and its ceiling foam, as well as the location and quality of emergency exits.

The two managers of the bar, where the fire broke out, are under criminal investigation.