Crans-Montana Fire: Five Months On, No Formal Charges Against the Morettis
Five months after the fire at a Crans-Montana bar that killed 41 people, investigations are progressing slowly and no formal charges have yet been filed.
Crans-Montana: bar operators questioned together for the first time
Five months after the deadly fire on New Year's Eve at the Crans-Montana resort in Valais, which claimed the lives of 41 people, no formal charges have yet been filed, reports zeit.de. Lawyers representing victims and relatives have denounced the slowness of the investigations.
"Some parents no longer want to wait," declared lawyer Sébastien Fanti. Complaints are now being filed in other countries, notably in France, in the hope of obtaining a faster procedure.
Jacques and Jessica Moretti, the French couple who operated the establishment, are implicated in negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent fire-raising. Released on bail, they appeared together before investigators in Sion, in the canton of Valais, for the first time. Surrounded by journalists, they entered the building without making a statement, using a side entrance. The prosecutor had described the hearing as a "confrontation", with the two suspects being questioned simultaneously about their respective roles and the instructions given that night.
Lawyer Fanti indicated that the Morettis had, during separate hearings, presented often divergent versions of how the evening unfolded and of responsibilities in general. According to lawyer Didier Elsig, they had sometimes refused to answer, deferring to their spouse. "This joint summons certainly comes late, but it is broadly welcome," he said. "The Morettis must stop shirking their responsibilities. We want them to acknowledge their fault."
Among the questions that remain unanswered are the complete absence of any staff training in fire safety, the closure of a door that should have served as an emergency exit, as well as renovation works that had narrowed the staircase leading to the basement of the bar. Acoustic foam used for soundproofing caught fire during New Year's Eve, ignited by spark fountains used as entertainment.
The majority of the victims, largely young people, perished in the crush on this staircase. More than 100 people were also injured in the catastrophe, dozens of them with serious burns, some still hospitalised or in rehabilitation centres to this day.
Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, whose 16-year-old son Arthur lost his life in the fire, was present at the hearing in Sion. "I am here today for him," she said in tears, "but also for his brother Benjamin, who must live with the consequences of this tragedy. We need answers. I must understand how Jacques and Jessica Moretti operate."
The prosecutor is also conducting investigations against approximately a dozen municipal employees. The municipality had acknowledged that no annual fire safety inspection had been carried out at the establishment since 2019.
Source: Google News LU DE