The fire broke out at the Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in the early hours of 1 January 2026. Sparkler fountains on champagne bottles set the ceiling of the basement area alight shortly before 1:30 a.m., and the blaze killed 41 people and injured 115. Federica Invernizzi, a 43-year-old hepatologist at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, told Corriere della Sera how she learned of the fire and what happened to her two daughters, who were both inside the bar.
The girls had left the bar around half past midnight to toast with friends outside. When they went back in, the older daughter was let in without trouble, while the younger one was not recognised by the bouncer and had to wait in the queue. The older daughter had earlier gone down to the smoking area near the toilets. When she heard screams and saw flames, she ran for the stairs, where two girls knocked her down and tore ligaments in her knee. Her mother says that fall kept her out of the wall of fire that followed on the stairway.
Her former husband phoned her in the early morning, saying the girls were fine but that the scene was chaos. The older daughter, 17 at the time and 18 now, had second-degree burns on 25% of her body, including an area of third-degree burns, and suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. Her hair was partly burned away and her clothes had melted, leaving only her jeans, and she came out holding her phone. Her mother, who first thought the injuries looked less serious, persuaded the family to take her to the San Raffaele hospital.
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The mother said her daughter needed months of treatment, some of which she gave at home to reduce the risk of hospital infections, and the older daughter returned to school in spring. The younger daughter, 15 at the time, remembers the fire in full and has post-traumatic stress: she screamed in her sleep for many nights and takes medication to sleep. She feels guilty for having been outside while friends died, the mother said. Today the mother campaigns for better aftercare for burn victims.
In Rome, Massimo Minghetti took part in an evening at the Cannizzaro lyceum marking its 60th anniversary, hosted by Pierluigi Diaco at Spazio 900. Current and former pupils and teachers attended, and his son, a former pupil of the school, was one of the victims of the Crans-Montana fire. Minghetti described his son as a positive young man with an infectious smile who wanted to become a criminal lawyer and loved concerts.
“Nobody is prepared to face the loss of a child.”
Minghetti compared the family to Ulysses, saying they have faced obstacles and trials every day since the fire. He also said that the school's gathering helped the family, adding:
“For us, Riccardo is still with us, in another way.”
The school announced that 2 February will be marked every year as a day of remembrance for the son and other former pupils who have died. It will also award a post-mortem diploma to him, to be handed to his parents when his class finishes its studies at the end of the school year.
Minghetti said the family received a great deal of solidarity from the start, including from the Italian state and all authorities. Andrea Costanzo, the father of a girl who died in the fire, announced 'Borse di Sogno', an initiative to help young people aged 14 to 23 pursue their aspirations. Some parents have also set up scholarships in memory of a girl who died. The mother says the family counts the survival of both daughters as a miracle.
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A mother of two girls who survived the Constellation bar fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, has described the night, her older daughter's burns and her younger daughter's trauma. In Rome, a victim's father spoke at a school event.
AI text based on reports by Il Fatto Quotidiano, 20 Minuten, Blick.ch and other publishers. Published .