Switzerland said on Wednesday (25 February) it would make a one-off payment of 50,000 Swiss francs ($56,000) to each severely injured survivor and to the bereaved families of those killed in the New Year bar fire at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
The so-called “solidarity contribution” is intended to provide swift financial support to victims and to serve as a gesture of compassion, the Federal Council said in a statement.
In principle, the payment will apply to the family of each person who lost their life, as well as to every individual who was hospitalised as a result of the blaze.
“The Federal Council shares the victims’ and their families’ desire for truth and justice,” Swiss President Guy Parmelin told a press conference.
“We too want to know what happened, why it happened and how it could have been prevented.”
Witnesses and prosecutors said the fire appeared to have been caused by sparkling candles that ignited foam soundproofing on the bar’s basement ceiling.
In total, the federal government will provide 7.8 million francs for 156 people most severely affected by the fire, Justice Minister Beat Jans said. The sum will complement aid from the resort’s home canton of Valais, which has pledged 10 million francs to a foundation set up to support the victims.
Swiss authorities said 41 people died in the fire and 115 people were injured. Most of those who died were teenagers, and many of the victims were foreign nationals, including several from France and Italy.
The Federal Council said it will convene a roundtable to help victims, insurers and authorities reach out-of-court settlements, potentially avoiding lengthy legal battles. Up to 20 million francs has been allocated for this purpose.
The government also plans to allocate a further 8.5 million francs to assist affected cantons with extraordinary costs.
The measures follow an analysis by the Federal Office of Justice, which identified gaps in existing support systems. These systems, primarily designed for individual cases, have struggled to cope with large-scale disasters.
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One person has died after a cable car cabin at the Titlis ski resort in central Switzerland plunged down a snow-covered mountainside on Wednesday (18 March) amid strong winds.
At least six people have died after a bus caught fire in Kerzers, Switzerland, in what police say may have been a deliberate act. Witnesses reported a man inside the vehicle set himself alight. Three others were injured and taken to hospital, while authorities continue their investigation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has described the second round of indirect nuclear talks with the United States as a "good start" as negotiations concluded on Tuesday (17 February) at the Omani consulate in Geneva.
SOCAR’s Carbamide plant in Sumgayit has been recognised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a Global Lighthouse site, marking Azerbaijan’s first inclusion in the Forum’s flagship Industry 4.0 network.
Israel reportedly launched a fresh wave of attacks on Iran on Friday (20 March), a day after U.S. President Donald Trump told it not to repeat its strikes on Iranian natural gas infrastructure, which sharply escalated the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. was considering "winding down" its military operation against Iran, as Iran and Israel traded attacks on Saturday (21 March) and Iranian media said the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz had been attacked.
Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris, the martial artist, actor and cultural icon best known for his roles in action films and the long-running CBS series Walker, Texas Ranger, has died at the age of 86.
The trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day has officially become the most-watched trailer of all time, racking up 718.6 million views in its first 24 hours and surpassing the previous record set by Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024.
Slovenia heads to the polls on Sunday (22 March) in a closely contested race between incumbent Prime Minister Robert Golob and right-wing former Prime Minister Janez Janša.
Belgium has marked the 10th-anniversary of the 2016 Brussels terror attacks, remembering the victims of the country’s deadliest peacetime attack and reflecting on changes to national security.
A drone attack on a hospital in East Darfur, Sudan, has killed at least 64 people and injured 89 more, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Saturday. Victims included children and medical staff, and the attack has put the facility out of service.
Cuba’s national power grid went down on Saturday, cutting electricity for millions, officials said. The outage marks the second nationwide blackout in a week and the third major grid failure in March.
A British nuclear-powered submarine armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles has reportedly taken up position in the Arabian Sea, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday (21 March). The deployment gives the UK the ability to carry out long-range strikes if tensions in the Gulf escalate.
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