French professional footballer Tahirys Dos Santos has been seriously injured following a deadly fire that tore through a nightclub at a Swiss ski resort during New Year’s Eve celebrations, leaving more than 40 people dead.
Dos Santos, a 19-year-old defender with Ligue 1 club FC Metz, sustained severe burns in the incident and was airlifted by helicopter to a specialist hospital in Germany for treatment, according to officials.
The fire broke out at about 1:30 a.m. local time at Le Constellation bar in the luxury resort town of Crans-Montana, where hundreds of people had gathered to usher in the new year. Dos Santos was reportedly on holiday in the Swiss Alps with friends when the blaze erupted.
Witness accounts cited by French media indicated that the fire may have started in the basement of the venue after a sparkler attached to a champagne bottle ignited the low wooden ceiling. Swiss authorities said the flames spread rapidly, triggering a flashover that caused the entire basement to catch fire almost simultaneously.
Emergency services said more than 100 people were injured, many with serious burns. The scale of the disaster overwhelmed burn units across Switzerland, prompting the transfer of critically injured victims to hospitals in neighbouring countries, including Germany and France.
FC Metz confirmed the player’s condition in a statement, saying Dos Santos had been staying at a nearby chalet and was expected to return to training this week. The club described the incident as deeply shocking and said it was providing full support to the player and his family.
Italian authorities said up to 16 Italian nationals were still missing, while France’s foreign ministry confirmed that eight French citizens remained unaccounted for as rescue and identification efforts continued.
Swiss officials warned that identifying all victims could take several days, as many bodies were severely damaged by the fire, necessitating the use of DNA and dental records.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin described the incident as one of the worst tragedies in the country’s history, saying the scale of the loss had cast a shadow over the start of the new year.