'Trapped in a Dreadful Dream': Loved Ones of Unaccounted For Teenagers Desperately Seek News After Alpine Inferno
The relatives of teens lost after a devastating fire at a bar in a Swiss alpine town are enduring an excruciating wait for confirmed information and requesting clues about their children online.
The blaze engulfed the Le Constellation bar in the alpine resort, located in the mountains of the Valais region, in the middle of the night of the first day of the year. Confirmed footage show the roof structure being engulfed in flames as beverages with fireworks are held aloft.
Emergency services have indicated that it could take days if not weeks to formally name the victims of the fire, which claimed the lives of 40 people and injured another over a hundred. Authorities noted on Friday that the majority of the injured have been accounted for, with the process continuing to locate the remaining few.
In the meantime, families and friends have been using social media to request clues about their loved ones who were present at the venue that evening.
Heartbreaking Pleas for the Missing
The fate of Swiss national Arthur Brodard, a teenager, are currently unknown, according to an appeal from his mother.
The resident of Lutry near Lausanne, informed a publication that she had gone back to the city to check whether he was in the hospital, while his other parent did the same in Bern, but did not locate him.
"It feels like a terrible dream, a horror. The options are finding my son in the morgue, or I find him in a serious state. Words cannot describe it," she stated.
She continued that some of his companions had been discovered with injuries covering a significant portion of their bodies. "There are no words; they endured a terrifying ordeal."
The Italian government has said that six of its young people are still unaccounted for.
Among them is Emanuele Galeppini, a teenage promising athlete, originally from Italy but now residing in the UAE.
The national sporting body has stated that he is deceased, without mentioning the fire, honoring a "talented young man who represented dedication and authentic values."
His father, told media that his son was at the bar and was last heard from around midnight. An representative has indicated that a official announcement of his death is still pending.
Additional Cases
Giovanni Tamburi, 16, is also among the missing. His parent told reporters that he had been on vacation but had ventured out with friends and ended up at the venue.
"A close friend informed me they ran away after the fire started and that he had his phone with him, but then at a specific moment he lost sight of him," she said, adding he had been wearing a identifiable piece of jewelry.
One of his educators commented, "I remember his kindness and smile, alongside great maturity. Every time ask if help out."
Alice Kallergis, who holds dual Swiss and Greek nationality but lives permanently in Switzerland, was also at the bar on New Year's Eve, according to sources.
Her brother has posted an appeal on social media, saying the family has had "no updates" regarding the 15-year-old or the three friends she was with, who are also unaccounted for.
Consular authorities from her country of origin say they are actively engaged with the developments.