GENEVA (AFP): Forty people, most of them teenagers, perished in the violent blaze that ripped through a Swiss ski resort bar filled with young New Year revellers.
Nationals of 19 countries figured among the dead and wounded, whose ages ranged from 14 to 39.
Swiss police have not published the names of victims of the blaze at Le Constellation bar but here is what we have learned about some of those whose deaths have been confirmed by those close to them.
- Switzerland: 21 fatalities -
Artur Brodard, 16
Brodard was about to turn 17. His mother told media about her initial search for information about what had happened to her son.
Two days after the fire, she announced his death on Facebook, stating: "We can now begin our grieving process."
Brodard lived in Lutry, by Lake Geneva, and was among seven young football players with the local team who died.
Benjamin Johnson, 18
Johnson, a member of the Lausanne boxing club, died rescuing a friend, the SwissBoxing federation said.
"This ultimate act of altruism perfectly reflects who he was -- someone who always helped others," the federation said, describing him as "positive, smiling and respectful".
Stefan Ivanovic, 31
Ivanovic, a Swiss national of Serbian origin, worked as a security guard at Le Constellation.
He was hailed in the media after he reportedly rescued many of the young patrons, and died returned to pull out others.
Friend Ruben Adolph described him on Facebook as "a sincere and genuine presence".
"You left like a hero. You always thought of others before yourself," he wrote.
- France: nine fatalities -
Noa Thevenot El Kaim Billah, 14
The youngest of the French victims lived in eastern France before moving to be with his father in Geneva.
He played in the junior team local club Lancy FC.
"Before he walked, he was already playing with a football. It was his life," his father Xavier Thevenot told the Est Republicain newspaper.
His funeral was due to be held in Geneva on Tuesday.
Charlotte Niddam, 15
Niddam held French, Israeli and British nationality, and attended a Jewish school near London.
Her family and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced her death on social media.
"The world simply won't be as bright and beautiful without Charlotte and her magnificent smile, and we will miss her terribly," Rebbetzin Jacqueline Feldman wrote on Facebook.
Mateo Lesguer, 23
The young DJ from Angers, western France, was at the turntables during New Year celebrations at Le Constellation.
He was known as Neoshyprod and specialised in dreamy, slow-tempoed "deep house".
"Today I received confirmation that Mateo Lesguer, my best friend, died in the fire in Crans-Montana," Lesguer's DJ duo partner Florian wrote on Instagram on January 5.
Cyane Panine, 24
Panine, from Sete in southeastern France, was a waitress at Le Constellation.
"She was a ray of sunshine," Jerome, her father, told French media. Her mother Astrid said "she had a beautiful heart and soul".
Noemie Dabin, 26
Dabin was a hotel management student from Toulouse, southern France, according to her LinkedIn profile. Her death was confirmed by Toulouse mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc on X.
- Italy: six fatalities -
Emanuele Galeppini, 16
Galeppini was a promising young Italian golfer from Genoa, northern Italy. He lived in Dubai and won the Dubai Creek Amateur Open last April.
Chiara Costanzo, 16
The teenager from Milan attended a scientific high school and was a talented gymnast.
"Chiara had a thirst for life and was forced to give up her dreams too soon," her father Andrea Costanzo said at her funeral on January 7.
"What I feel now is just a great emptiness," younger sister Elena said. "I promise you that I will live my life to the fullest and dedicate all my achievements to you."
Riccardo Minghetti, 16
Minghetti, from Rome, loved tennis, swimming and skiing, according to La Repubblica newspaper.
"Faced with a tragedy like this, there are no words, and when life presents us with situations like this, we see how absurd and unpredictable it all is," Bishop Andrea Manto told his funeral on January 7.
Friend Valerio said Minghetti's death had a dramatic impact on his school.
"It's something you feel in class, in the corridors... It's left no-one indifferent."
- Belgium: one fatality -
Victoria, 17
Victoria attended high school in Rixensart, south of Brussels.
The school told AFP it had offered pupils psychological support when they returned after the Christmas holidays and provided boxes so they could leave written messages for Victoria's family. -- AFP
