Four Crans-Montana fire survivors return to Milan high school after eight months of treatment

Return to Liceo Virgilio

On Monday, 14 September 2026, four teenage survivors of the Crans-Montana fire returned to Liceo Virgilio in Milan for their first day of school. Leonardo Bove, Francesca Nota, Sofia Donadio, and Kean Talingdan arrived together at 09:20 in a black minivan driven by Leonardo's father, Gabriele Bove. To prepare for the emotional morning, Francesca and Sofia had spent the previous night together, while Leonardo and Kean had done the same. The group entered through a secondary access door on Via Pisacane to avoid crowds outside the 1,800-student facility. When the four students entered their fourth-year human sciences classroom (Quarta D), their classmates welcomed them with a prolonged round of applause.

“The best moment was when we entered the classroom and saw all the classmates we had not seen at school for a long time.”

Classroom adaptations and reduced schedule

School administrators instituted specific environmental adjustments to accommodate the physical rehabilitation of the four students. Staff relocated the Quarta D classroom to the raised ground floor to minimize stair navigation. Teachers arranged desks away from windows to prevent direct sunlight from reaching healing burn tissue. The school placed four large cushioned office chairs in the classroom and installed two electric fans to maintain a cool environment for students wearing medical compression garments and dressings. The students attended a reduced four-hour schedule from 09:20 to 13:00, with complete exemptions from physical education lessons.

Recovery from the Crans-Montana fire

The four students suffered severe burns during the New Year's Eve fire at the Le Constellation venue in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where 41 people died and 115 suffered serious injuries. Following initial emergency stabilization in Switzerland, all four students were transferred to the specialized burn centre at Niguarda Hospital in Milan for intensive care and surgeries. Francesca Nota sustained burns covering 70% of her body and underwent 224 days of hospitalization before her discharge in August. Leonardo Bove spent more than six and a half months in hospital care before returning home to prepare for the academic term.

“It was her goal to return to the desks together with her classmates, but it was not a given at all, because when she left the hospital she still had open wounds.”

Fatalities41

Severely injured115

Fatalities

41 people

Severely injured

115 people

Data from the article text

Ongoing therapy and flexible attendance

The four teenagers will follow a flexible educational plan that combines in-person lessons with hospital appointments and remote instruction. Some of the recovering students experience restricted hand mobility that complicates written classwork. Following their 13:00 dismissal on Monday, Leonardo and Kean travelled directly to the hospital for scheduled treatments. Vice Principal Mario Secone explained that the school applies standard medical protocols enabling students with complex health conditions to attend part-time while undergoing physiotherapy, laser therapy, and follow-up surgeries.

“Their path involves attending in person, they care about it, and we hope they manage to stay as much time as possible.”