The Romanian Embassy in Bern is in contact with the family of a Romanian national who is presumed missing after the fire that ripped through the La Constellation bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday.
"The consular team is taking the necessary steps with the competent Swiss authorities and will publicly communicate any officially confirmed developments," the Ministry said in a press release, agerpres reports.
The Ministry also reminded that Romania is part of the humanitarian contact group created to support Swiss authorities in managing the cases of hospitalized persons and that in this context, Romanian institutions - the Emergency Management Department, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of National Defense - are prepared to offer assistance, including with specialized medical flights, if requested by Switzerland. The Romanian Embassy in Bern continues to closely monitor the situation, the statement reads.
Investigators in Switzerland on Friday set about the painful task of identifying the burned bodies recovered after the fire that swept through a crowded bar during a New Year's Eve party in Crans-Montana, killing around 40 people, Reuters previously reported.
The burns sustained by the partygoers - many of them young - in the Le Constellation bar were so severe that Swiss officials said it may take several days to identify all the victims. More than 100 people were also injured, many of them seriously.
The parents of missing young people have issued public appeals for information, while foreign embassies are trying to determine whether any of their nationals are among the victims of one of the worst tragedies in modern Swiss history.
The mayor of Crans-Montana, Nicolas Feraud, told a press conference that the utmost priority is to establish the identity of all the bodies, a process that could take days. Mathias Reynard, head of government of the canton of Valais, said that experts are using dental and DNA samples for identification. He emphasized that nothing can be communicated to families unless authorities are 100% certain, given the sensitivity and gravity of the situation.
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