Several people have been killed and others injured when an explosion ripped through a bar in the luxury Alpine ski resort town of Crans-Montana, Swiss police said early on Thursday.
About 100 people were in the bar at the time of the blast, police said.
“There has been an explosion of unknown origin,” Gaetan Lathion, a police spokesperson in Wallis canton in southwestern Switzerland, told AFP. “There are several injured, and several dead.”
He said the explosion took place at about 1:30am (0030 GMT) in a bar called Le Constellation, which is popular with tourists, as revellers rang in the new year.
“More than a hundred people were in the building, and we are seeing many injured and many dead,” he said. The area has been completely closed off, and a no-fly zone has been imposed over Crans-Montana, police said.
The BBC also reported that several people were killed and others injured in the blast, citing police. Images published by Swiss media showed a building in flames, and emergency services nearby.
A reception centre and helpline have been setup for impacted families, Lathion said.
“We’re just at the beginning of our investigation, but this is a internationally renowned ski resort with lots of tourists,” Lathion said.
A news conference was scheduled for 10am by police.
Crans-Montana is a municipality in the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Matterhorn.
With Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
This is a developing story…
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