Photos of the slim alleyways of Pakistan's Mughal-era old Lahore city

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — In Pakistan, an old saying goes: “He who has not seen Lahore has not been born.”

To feel its heartbeat, one must wander the city's winding alleyways that are alive with movement and color.

Centuries-old homes were built with small, weathered bricks instead of mud and lean gracefully into the streets, their walls etched with the delicate patterns of history. Many have been restored, painted with frescoes and motifs, allowing the grandeur of the Mughal era to shine anew.

The alleys are narrow, sometimes barely wide enough for one person to pass. But within these tight corridors flows a quiet, enduring rhythm of courtesy, as residents step aside for one another with an unspoken grace.

These streets were made for foot traffic, for summer shade, and for defense — narrow passages slowing invading armies. While massive gates like Delhi Gate were once closed at night, today they remain open, welcoming life to flow uninterrupted round the clock.

People enter in historical the Wazir Khan mosque at in old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Students enter their school, set up in an old heritage building which was built during the Mughal era, in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A vendor prepares traditional yogurt mixed drink locally called Lassi for customers at a street of an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Local resident walks through a market it an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A young wrestler reflects on a mirror as he attends a training session in a wrestling academy at in old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

People eat evening meal on a rooftop restaurant set up in a heritage building beside the historical "Badshahi" mosque, in background, in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

People walk past heritage buildings, which convert in a modern restaurants in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A young wrestler attends a training session in a wrestling academy in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Artisans prepare traditional embroidery bridal dresses at their workshop in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Local resident walks through a market of traditional embroidery bridal dresses in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A vendor prepares traditional tea for his customers at a his tea stall in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A local make way for another for walking through a narrow alley in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chuadary)

A vendor chats with his friend at his hookah, or water-pipe shop, in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Laborers read the morning paper as they wait for customers along a street side in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Local residents get their haircut from street barbers in an old neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Locals buy a traditional breakfast dish called "Paye" in an old neighborhood in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Students walk through a street as they head to their school in an old neighborhood in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chuadary)

Motorcyclists drive through an alley in an old neighborhood in Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Swiss investigators believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles started a fire in a bar at an Alpine ski resort that left 40 people dead and another 119 injured during a New Year’s celebration.

Most injuries, many of them serious, occurred when the blaze swept through the crowded bar in southwestern Switzerland in the early hours of Thursday.

Officials believe the candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, ignited the fire when they came too close to the bar's ceiling. Authorities planned to look into whether the material on the ceiling that was designed to muffle sound conformed with regulations.

The Crans-Montana resort is best known as an international ski and golf venue. Overnight, the Le Constellation bar morphed from a scene of revelry into the site of one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.

Here’s what we know:

The blaze broke out about 1:30 a.m. Thursday during a holiday celebration inside the Le Constellation bar.

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they were inside when they saw a male bartender lifting a female colleague on his shoulders as she held a lit candle in a bottle. The flames spread, collapsing the wooden ceiling, they told the broadcaster.

People tried to escape from a nightclub area in the basement, up a flight of stairs and through a narrow door, causing a crowd surge, one of the women said.

A young man at the scene said people smashed windows to escape, BFMTV reported. He said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames.

Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation, rushed to help first responders after receiving a call from a friend who escaped the inferno. He described a scene of people trapped on the ground, severely injured and burned.

“I have seen horror and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Campolo told French broadcaster TF1.

Investigators will examine whether sparklers were permitted for use in the bar. They will also look at the safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers, escape routes, and compliance with regulations, Valais canton Attorney General Béatrice Pilloud said Friday.

She also warned of possible prosecutions if there was any criminal liability involving individuals.

“If this is indeed the case and these individuals are still alive, an investigation will be opened against them for negligent arson, negligent homicide, and negligent bodily harm," Pilloud said.

Swiss officials described the blaze as a likely flashover, meaning that it triggered the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently.

The injured suffered from serious burns and smoke inhalation. Some were flown to specialist hospitals across the country and elsewhere in Europe.

Of the 119 injured, 113 have been identified, officials said Friday.

The injured include 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said Friday. The nationalities of 14 people remain unclear.

The severity of the burns has made it very difficult to identify bodies, bringing fresh agony for families who now must hand over DNA samples to authorities. In some cases, wallets and any ID inside turned to ash in the flames.

Emanuele Galeppini, a promising 17-year-old golfer who competed internationally, is officially listed as one of Italy’s missing nationals. His uncle, Sebastiano Galeppini, told Italian news agency ANSA that their family is awaiting the DNA checks, though the Italian Golf Federation announced on its website that he had died.

Top-flight French soccer team FC Metz said one of its trainee players, 19-year-old Tahirys Dos Santos, was badly burned and has been transferred by plane to Germany for treatment.

On Instagram, an account filled up with photos of people who remained unaccounted for, with their friends and relatives begging for tips about the whereabouts of the missing.

The nearby regional hospital in Sion took in a flood of victims from the fire. Its general director, Eric Bonvin, recounted how staff scrambled to determine the extent of people’s injuries.

The hospital — in the heart of the Alps and no stranger to winter sports accidents — was well staffed for the end of the year, when crowds flock to the mountains. On top of that, many colleagues who had not been scheduled to work rushed in to lend a hand.

Still the hospital, which is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the resort by air, quickly hit full capacity, authorities said, taking in about 80 seriously injured people in just three hours.

By Friday afternoon, most had transferred to other hospitals, with medical evacuation flights leaving from Sion’s airport, while others had been discharged, Bonvin said.

With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region’s snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit.

The resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan Cortina Olympics in February.

The town’s Crans-sur-Sierre golf club, down the street from the bar, stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course.

Dazio reported from Berlin and Leicester reported from Sion, Switzerland. Geir Moulson in Berlin, Graham Dunbar in Geneva and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

A police officer helps a boy to light a candle near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)