'Several Dozen' Killed in Fire at Swiss Ski Resort Bar

"Several dozen" people are presumed to have died in a fire in a bar at a Swiss ski resort, authorities say

Around 100 are injured, with "several nationalities" involved - here's a recap of the Swiss authorities' news conference

The fire began at around 01:30 (00:30 GMT) in a bar called Le Constellation

It's a popular bar with young people, says our reporter at the scene Silvia Costeloe - people would go there to watch football matches

The cause of the fire is not known, although police initially said there had been an explosion. The local prosecutor does not believe it was an attack

A helpline has been set up for concerned families: +41 848 112 117

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Edited by Owen Amos, with Silvia Costeloe reporting from Crans-Montana

A woman who was in Sion hospital with her mother overnight has told a local newspaper about the moment that victims from the bar fire began to arrive.

The woman says a nurse ordered everyone in the waiting room to leave as the injured turned up.

She tells Le Nouvelliste the nurse asked everyone to come back the following day due to "the arrival of about 30 victims following an explosion in Montana".

"I quickly went outside to clear the access to the emergency room and then it was chaos," she says.

"People were arriving from everywhere, seriously injured people in cars, there was the smell of burning.

"They all left their vehicles in the middle of the access ramp."

Emergency teams in Crans-Montana earlier today

The Italian ambassador to Switzerland says it will take weeks to identify the dead from the fire in Crans-Montana.

He was speaking on Italian TV from the scene, where he is now with staff from the consulate in Geneva.

Earlier, the Italian foreign minister had said the identification of victims would be complex and require time, due to the severe burns.

We're seeing multiple French outlets reporting that at least two of the injured in this morning's fire in Crans-Montana are French nationals.

Citing a statement from the Interior Ministry, the outlets say the two nationals "were immediately taken care of by the emergency services".