Deadly Swiss ski resort bar fire caused by sparklers: investigators

A Swiss ski resort bar fire that killed more than three dozen victims on Thursday was caused by sparklers, investigators said Friday.

The fire at the Le Constellation bar at the Crans-Montana resort resulted in the deaths of about 40 people, and 113 out of the 119 injured have been identified, police said, CBS News reported.

Prosecutor-General Beatrice Pilloud said authorities interviewed two bar managers in order to understand the internal configuration of the venue. She said the investigation was still ongoing.

According to video from the bar fire, a man tried but failed to snuff out the first flames in the basement of the Le Constellation bar with a white cloth. The fire swept up to the upper level of the building.

Authorities said the fire appears to have been accidental, and that at least two dozen people were still missing.

A survivor said that bar staff had inadvertently sparked the inferno.

"One woman climbed onto another woman's shoulders with two bottles and birthday sparklers were going off," said 16-year-old French visitor Axel Cavalier. "She waved them too high, they hit the ceiling and it caught fire."

Pilloud said Thursday, "At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack," adding later that it was unclear how many people had been in the bar at the time of the fire, but that its maximum capacity would be one of the factors examined in the investigation.

"For the time being, we don't have any suspects," Pilloud said when asked if anyone had been arrested. "An investigation has been opened, not against anyone, but to better understand the circumstances of this dramatic fire."