Crans-Montana dismisses employee over alleged bar application forgery

The municipality of Crans-Montana has summarily dismissed a building department employee accused of involvement in falsifying a construction application for Le Constellation, the bar where 41 people died and more than 100 were injured in a New Year’s Eve fire, Swiss broadcaster SRF reported.

The case concerns an application for alterations to the bar’s terrace, submitted only a few weeks before the fire. According to French-speaking broadcaster RTS, the application listed the name of a qualified engineer to meet formal requirements.

Criminal investigators allege that the engineer’s name was used with the knowledge of the now-dismissed municipal employee, without the engineer’s awareness. The engineer was not involved in the project, investigators said.

Crans-Montana’s municipal administration responded to the investigation findings on Friday. It said the employee’s conduct had permanently destroyed the relationship of trust and justified immediate dismissal. The municipal council and administration added that such behaviour would not be tolerated under any circumstances.

The dismissed employee declined to comment on the allegations when approached by RTS.

Romain Jordan, a lawyer representing several families of the victims, said the development was another shock and a blow to the relatives. He said it showed that the case involved not just one instance of negligence or an isolated failure, but a deep-rooted problem with the culture within the municipality.

Jordan said it was incomprehensible that documents had allegedly been altered just two weeks before the disaster to make matters easier for the operators of Le Constellation, raising serious questions.