French professional footballer Tahirys Dos Santos has sustained serious burn injuries following a devastating fire at a Swiss ski resort nightclub during New Year’s celebrations that claimed more than 40 lives.
The 19-year-old FC Metz defender was on holiday with friends in the Swiss Alps when the blaze broke out around 1:30 a.m. at the Le Constellation bar in the upscale resort of Crans-Montana. He was later airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Germany, where he is receiving specialist treatment.
According to witness accounts carried by French media, the fire reportedly started in the basement of the venue after a sparkler attached to a champagne bottle ignited the low wooden ceiling.
FC Metz confirmed that Dos Santos had been staying in a nearby chalet and was due to return to training this week. The club said its management, coaching staff and players were “deeply shocked” by the incident and are offering full support to the player and his family as he recovers.
The fire tore through the crowded basement nightclub during New Year’s Eve festivities, killing more than 40 people and injuring over 100 others, many of them seriously. Swiss authorities said the flames spread rapidly after reaching the ceiling, triggering a flashover that caused nearly all combustible materials in the space to ignite at once.
Hospitals across Switzerland were reportedly overwhelmed by the scale of the emergency, leading to the transfer of some critically injured victims to medical facilities in neighbouring countries. Italian officials said up to 16 Italian nationals remained missing, while France’s foreign ministry confirmed that eight French citizens were still unaccounted for.
Authorities cautioned that identifying all victims could take several days, as many could not be visually identified, necessitating the use of DNA and dental records.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin described the incident as “one of the worst tragedies our country has ever experienced,” saying it had cast a shadow of mourning over the nation at the start of the new year.
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