A hero banker saved ten youngsters from the Swiss ski resort inferno by forcing open an emergency door after his teenage daughter rang him pleading for help.
Paolo Campolo, 55, raced from his home in Crans-Montana to Le Constellation bar, where he prized open a side door to allow panicked revellers to run for their lives as the building filled with roaring flames and smoke in seconds.
At least 40 clubbers were killed and another 119 injured, 80 of them critically, when a devastating blaze ripped through the basement of the packed club as it hosted New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Mr Campolo, a Swiss-Italian financial analyst, rushed to the scene after his distraught daughter called him to say her boyfriend and friends were trapped inside while she was waiting to enter.
With the main entrance blocked up by people cramming to escape, he identified a door off to the side and forced it open.
Footage posted online appears to show a man forcing open a door to the right of the main entrance and a clearly distressed young woman immediately bursting out, though it’s not clear whether this is Mr Campolo.
Speaking from his hospital bed, where he is being treated for smoke inhalation, the heroic father recalled the harrowing scene that lay behind the door.
He told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero: ‘There were several bodies all around. Alive but burnt. Some conscious, others not.
Paolo Campolo, 55, rushed to Le Constellation bar after receiving a distress call from his teenage daughter
High quality photographs show the very first moments of the Swiss Constellation Bar fire in Crans-Montana, where dozens died on New Year’s Eve
People film the ceiling on fire at the Swiss Constellation Bar fire in Crans-Montana
‘They were begging for help in several languages. They were very young.’
Le Constellation was particularly popular amongst younger age groups, and many of the victims are teenagers.
Fire crews and emergency teams were already at the club when Mr Campolo arrived from his house just 50 yards away.
The flames had died down, but scores of people were trapped inside the building that had filled with choking smoke, and there was a crush at the singular exit point.
Working with another man, Mr Campolo managed to pull open the other door, behind which he could see ‘hands and faces’, and several people immediately spilled out.
He continued: ‘I didn’t think about the pain, the smoke, the danger.
‘I pulled kids out with my bare hands. One after the other. They were alive but injured, many of them seriously.’
When asked what he most remembered from the traumatic night, Mr Campolo said: ‘The looks. The lucid desperation of those who know they’re dying.
Footage posted online appeared to show a man forcing open a side door as flames rip through La Constellation
British-educated Charlotte Niddam is among the missing after a deadly fire tore through a bar in the Swiss Alps
The schoolgirl, believed to be 15, has not been heard from since a fire tore through a packed bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland
The footage, taken by French economics student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, shows flames ripping through the Crans-Montana club as revellers continue singing, dancing and shouting – unaware they are already trapped in extreme danger
‘Burned people looking at you and asking you not to leave them there. It’s something that never goes away.’
His daughter would also have been inside the club when the fire took hold had she not stopped over at the house to cheers the New Year with her parents.
Mr Campolo is recovering in a hospital bed in Sion, Switzerland, after inhaling smoke, and his daughter was unharmed, but her boyfriend is fighting for his life in a hospital in Basel.
Among the injured are 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, according to Frédéric Gisler, police commander of the Valais region.
The nationalities of 14 people were still unclear.
Officials said identifying the dead and the remaining injured could take days owing to their burns.
One confirmed to be missing after attending the club is a 15-year-old schoolgirl educated in Britain called Charlotte Niddam.
Ms Niddam babysat for pocket money in Crans-Montana but has not been heard from since the fire.
Police officers standing outside Le Constellation on New Year’s Day
Footage shows the deadly flashover, when extreme heat caused everything inside the enclosed space to ignite almost at once, leaving people little chance to flee
Candles have been laid at a makeshift memorial near the club
The French-born teenager attended Immanuel College, a private Jewish school in Hertfordshire, and the Jewish Free School in north London.
She returned to France two years ago. Her mother, Marie-Sophie, lives in Zurich. Charlotte said she was available to babysit in Crans-Montana at weekends and in school holidays on the resort’s website.
Charlotte Niddam’s schoolfriend, Mia, shared pictures of her on social media and wrote: ‘My sweet sweet special Lottie I love you more than the meaning of life. I need my best friend. I miss you.’
Teachers at the Jewish Free School wrote to parents asking ‘for your love and prayers in support of Charlotte Niddam and her family’.
They wrote: ‘Charlotte’s situation, along with many others, remains unknown and the family are awaiting further news.’
Immanuel College also wrote to parents yesterday asking that they ‘come together in support of Charlotte Niddam’. The teenager was described by a former neighbour as ‘kind’ and ‘so clever’.
Investigators said on Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles was the most likely cause of the fire.
Authorities planned to look into whether the sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether sparklers were permitted for use in the bar.
The candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, were the same type that is commonly available for parties, officials said.
Mourners gather near Le Constellation
Laetitia Brodard-Sitre showing a photo of her 16-year-old son, Arthur, who is missing after the fire
Officials said they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.
Beatrice Pilloud, the attorney general for the Valais region, warned of possible prosecutions if any criminal liability is found.
Meanwhile, the couple who own Le Contellation broke their silence on Friday to say they can’t ‘sleep nor eat’ as prosecutors said they may face manslaughter charges.
The Daily Mail earlier revealed the owners of Le Constellation to be French couple Jacques Moretti, 49, and his wife Jessica, 40, who was inside the bar when the blaze broke out and suffered burns to her arm.
Mr Moretti, who was not in the venue, has now spoken out for the first time since the blaze, telling Swiss outlet 20 Minuten: ‘We can neither sleep nor eat, we are all very unwell.’
The bar owner also defended the safety of the nightclub after it emerged the venue was fitted with wooden furnishings and foam-style ceiling material and had only one narrow staircase for revellers trying to escape.
Mr Moretti claimed that the club had been inspected three times in the past 10 years, adding: ‘Everything had been done according to regulation.’
He emphasised the couple – known as powerful figures in the Swiss hospitality industry – are cooperating with authorities, adding: ‘We will do everything we can to help clarify the causes. We are doing everything in our power. Our lawyers are also involved.’
The couple, who have a young son, opened the bar in the upmarket ski resort of Crans-Montana in December 2015 after falling in love with the area when they visited for a week’s holiday in 2011.
Jacques Moretti, 49, and his wife Jessica, 40, (pictured) who are from the French island of Corsica, are now facing a raft of questions over how the deadly blaze spread so quickly
A man comforts a woman as they stand near candles placed for the victims as a tribute outside Le Constellation bar
Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general for Switzerland’s Valais region, said: ‘We assume that the fire originated from sparklers attached to champagne bottles. From there, the ceiling caught fire.
‘We are also looking at what materials were used. The issue of emergency exits, fire extinguishers, and the bar’s occupancy is also being investigated.
‘Our investigation also includes the foam on the ceiling. It is still unclear whether any individuals will face criminal charges. However, it is possible that an investigation for negligent homicide will be initiated.’
Harrowing footage emerged yesterday showing oblivious revellers continuing to party as flames spread across the bar’s ceiling.
Partygoers lost crucial seconds during which they could have fled.
A video filmed by French economics student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, 19, shows teenagers singing and dancing without realising the danger they were in.
As well as at least 47 fatalities, another 119 were injured, authorities confirmed yesterday, with some of the missing aged just 15.
All but six of the injured have been formally identified, but the severity of the burns means many are unrecognisable.
A photograph sent by survivors to French outlet BFMTV shows a waitress at Le Constellation sitting on the shoulders of a colleague while holding a sparkler in the air, moments before the deadly blaze ripped through the bar
A grab of a video obtained from the X account of @Tyroneking36852 shows a fire in a bar in Crans-Montana, a ski resort in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, early on January 1, 2026
Moments before the fire, a waitress had been seen dancing and waving a lit sparkler beneath foam soundproofing panels on the ceiling, which then caught light. Customers also appear to be holding up bottles with blazing sparklers attached to them.
Several people can be seen holding up their phones as the fire grows overhead, apparently unaware they are capturing the moments before disaster struck.
As the horror unfolded, Ferdinand escaped – but then made the extraordinary decision to go back inside twice to save his brother and girlfriend.
He said he found a badly burnt person on the stairs, adding: ‘Their clothes were burned, I could only make out teeth.’
Ferdinand told the Daily Mail: ‘I saw someone order these champagne bottles and I saw the waitresses take the bottles on their shoulders with sparklers on top.
‘One of the sparklers set light to the roof, which was made of insulating foam. I saw the roof catch fire and I went under the bar.
‘I found some water in the fridge. I tried throwing the water on the fire, but… it had no effect.
‘I took my girlfriend’s arm and I screamed to everyone, “Get out!”. I pushed my girlfriend as hard as I could up the stairs.
Security stands in front of the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year’s celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday morning, Jan. 2, 2026
A signboard of Le Constellation bar, after a fire and explosion during a New Year’s Eve party where several people died and others were injured
‘I fell on the ground. My first reflex was to cover my face with my arms and I closed my eyes. At this moment… someone opened the front door. This brought lots of air inside, which also fuelled the fire.
‘And the fire turned into a fireball. At this moment the fire took all the breathable air and I couldn’t breathe any more.
‘So in a last hope I took the foot of the table and grabbed myself out. I couldn’t find anyone. I went back inside. There was too much smoke and I couldn’t breathe. So I went back out. I found a friend of mine who was burned. He asked me, where is your girlfriend?
‘I found my girlfriend completely in shock.’
Ferdinand said his brother was in a coma in hospital, but was expected to recover.
