A criminal investigation has been opened against the owners of the bar that burned down in Switzerland on New Year's Eve.

BarcelonaJustice begins to act after the New Year's Eve tragedy which has shocked Switzerland. Police have opened a criminal investigation against the couple who ran the Le Constellation bar in Valais, where a fire killed 40 people and injured 119, most with very serious burns, so the death toll could rise.

"They are accused of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and negligent arson," the Valais cantonal police reported. Flares placed in champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling of the restaurant, located in the heart of the Swiss Alps, are the leading hypothesis for the fire's origin, according to Valais District Attorney Béatrice Pilloud.

After two days of preliminary investigations, the public prosecutor's office has determined that there is sufficient evidence to open a criminal investigation against the French couple who own the bar located in a ski resort, very popular with young people in the Swiss town of Crans-Montana.

The investigation will focus on the maintenance carried out on the premises and a comprehensive renovation that took place in 2015, when soundproofing foam was installed that may have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. Acoustic foams, used to soundproof a space, must be fire-resistant, but they are a high-end product and are replaced with a cheaper polyurethane foam, which lacks the fire-resistant treatment.

The bar's co-owners were initially questioned as witnesses and indicated that their premises had been inspected by local authorities three times in the last decade.

The theory that flares were the cause coincides with the testimony of several people present in the restaurant and with videos of the moment the fire started. The fire spread rapidly through the bar, a basement establishment with only one entrance, creating a fatal bottleneck. Regulars at the bar say that bottles containing flares are common at Le Constellation. Following the fire, cantonal authorities have asked municipalities to strengthen inspections of bars and other establishments to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again. For the time being, the regulations governing inspections will not be modified, according to Stéphane Ganzer, head of the Security Department in the Valais region. However, Ganzer pointed out that, in addition to the oversight responsibility of public institutions, there is a clear private responsibility on the part of those who operate an establishment. Ganzer indicated that they will analyze whether it is necessary to prohibit the use of incandescent items, such as flares, in enclosed nightclubs.

First identified

Swiss police announced on Saturday the identification of the first eight victims of the fire, all of them Swiss. Initially, two Swiss girls, aged 21 and 16, and two boys, aged 18 and 16, were identified. Later, two young women, aged 24 and 22, and two young men, aged 21 and 18, were identified. Their remains have been released to their families. "The investigations and procedures to identify the other victims, deceased or injured, are actively continuing," the police stated. Of all the victims, 71 are Swiss, 14 French, 11 Italian, four Serbian, one Belgian, one Bosnian, one Luxembourger, one Pole, and one Portuguese.