Crans-Montana: former head of the municipality refuses to answer
Keystone-SDA
The former municipal fire safety officer refused to answer investigators’ questions on Wednesday as the hearing resumed into the New Year’s Eve fire at the Le Constellation bar in Crans‑Montana.
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Appearing before prosecutors leading the investigation, the former employee of Chermignon – now part of Crans‑Montana, but until 2017 the municipality responsible for Le Constellation – chose to remain silent. As a result, the questioning ended after just 15 minutes.
Wednesday’s session marked the third round of hearings, out of five scheduled over the course of the week. The Valais public prosecutor’s office began this latest round of questioning a day later than planned.
+ Crans-Montana tragedy highlights limits of Swiss federal system
Jacques Moretti, the manager of the Le Constellation bar, who had been due to appear on Tuesday, was excused from attending after his lawyer submitted two medical certificates that were accepted by investigators.
Ready to cooperate
Commenting on the former municipal safety officer’s decision to remain silent, Robert Assaël, a lawyer for the civil parties, told the AFP news agency that the defendant had refused to cooperate after being informed of the charges. “I am shocked that he chose not to answer questions,” he said, adding that the victims “are waiting for just one thing: the truth”.
His lawyer, Fabien Mingard, told the Keystone‑SDA news agency that his client “had exercised his right not to answer questions because he had not yet been given access to the case files”.
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Crans-Montana fire: ex-safety officer questioned by Valais prosecutors
“As his first hearing has already taken place, the public prosecutor should now, in principle, allow him access to the case files,” the lawyer said. He added that he had made a request to that effect on Wednesday morning, after the hearing, and stressed that his client was ready to cooperate.
Hearings at the Sion campus
The deputy fire safety officer, who was in post between 2020 and 2024, is due to be questioned on Thursday. On Friday, a member of the current public safety team will be heard.
Crans‑Montana’s mayor, Nicolas Féraud, is due to be questioned next on Monday, April 13, two days before the former member of the municipal executive who was responsible for public safety between 2021 and 2024.
As in February, the questioning is taking place at the Energypolis campus courtroom in Sion, allowing most of the 91 lawyers now involved in the case to be accommodated in one place.
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The new suspects face charges of manslaughter, causing bodily harm through negligence and negligent arson. These are the same charges brought against Jacques and Jessica Moretti, as well as the former and current safety officers of the Crans‑Montana municipality. In total, nine people are now under investigation. A date for Jacques Moretti’s next hearing has yet to be set.
In little more than 90 seconds
The New Year’s Eve tragedy in Crans‑Montana left 41 people dead and 115 injured, a third of whom remain in hospital. Only eight people escaped unharmed, according to an investigation by Valais cantonal police – a figure since confirmed by the public prosecutor’s office to Keystone‑SDA.
The entire sequence of events, from the moment the basement ceiling caught fire to the rapid spread of flames, known as a “flashover”, lasted just over a minute and a half.
Translated from Italian by AI/sp
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