Six people injured in the fatal fire at a Swiss bar remain unidentified. It's an unbearable wait

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Sixteen-year-old Arthur Brodard went to the Le Constellation bar with friends to celebrate the New Year. Nearly 48 hours after a devastating fire, his mother still held out hope he might be one of the six injured people who remained unidentified after one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.

Those half-dozen people gave a glimmer of hope for families whose loved ones were missing in the aftermath of the fire at the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana that killed 40 people and injured 119 others, 113 of whom have been formally identified.

“I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard, from Lausanne, Switzerland, told reporters. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

The severity of the burns has made it difficult to identify both the injured and deceased, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. In some cases, wallets and any identification documents inside turned to ash in the flames. An Instagram account has filled up with photos of people who were unaccounted for, and friends and relatives begged for tips about their whereabouts.

Officials in the Valais regional government acknowledged the prolonged heartache.

“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference.

Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government, added: “We are aware of the particularly difficult hours, of the unbearable side of every minute that passes without answers."

Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the bar crowded with New Year's Eve revelers, two hours after midnight Thursday.

“We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could, we saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

Many of the injured were in their teens to mid-20s, police said. Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar.

Officials said they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes. The region's top prosecutor warned of possible prosecutions if any criminal liability is found.

The injured included 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, according to Frédéric Gisler, police commander of the Valais region. The nationalities of 14 people were still unclear.

Emanuele Galeppini, a promising teenage Italian golfer who competed internationally, was 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 on its website announced that he had died.

Dazio reported from Berlin. Associated Press journalists Geir Moulson in Berlin, Graham Dunbar in Geneva, and Nicole Winfield and Giada Zampano in Rome contributed to this report.

People bring flowers and letters, reading "Rest in Peace", near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)

People mourn behind flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

The sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations is seen in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday morning, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)

People bring flowers and candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)

People mourn behind flowers and letters near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Tyon Grant-Foster made three straight baskets in overtime to give No. 7 Gonzaga its first lead since early in the first half, and the Bulldogs rallied for an 80-72 win over Seattle on Friday night in the first meeting between the cross-state programs since 1980.

Braden Huff scored 28 points and Graham Ike added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (15-1, 3-0 West Coast Conference), who trailed by eight points at halftime and by 13 early in the second half. Gonzaga won its eighth straight game since being blown out by current No. 2 Michigan in the Players Era Festival in late November.

Grant-Foster finished with 19 points. His layup with 2:25 left in overtime put Gonzaga ahead 70-68, and he added two more buckets for a six-point advantage.

Brayden Maldonado scored 17 points for Seattle (12-4, 1-2 WCC), which is in its first season as a member of the WCC and is off to its best start since rejoining Division I in 2008.

Gonzaga came in averaging 93 points per game, 12th most in the country, but struggled offensively most of the night.

Seattle led 37-29 at halftime. It was only the second time this season the Zags were behind at the break.

Yeo Junseok, a former Gonzaga player, hit a pair of 3-pointers as Seattle expanded its lead to 52-39.

The Zags methodically closed the gap over the final eight minutes of regulation. Braeden Smith's two free throws tied it at 65-all with 20 seconds left, and Maldonado missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have won it for the Redhawks.

Seattle: At Saint Mary's on Sunday.

Gonzaga: Hosts Loyola Marymount on Sunday.

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Gonzaga forward Graham Ike, left, shoots while pressured by Seattle center Houran Dan, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

Gonzaga guard Tyon Grant-Foster (7) shoots nexar to teammate Braden Huff (34) and between Seattle center Houran Dan (6) and forward Will Heimbrodt (15) during overtime in an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)