THE parents of the waitress at the centre of the deadly Swiss bar inferno have revealed their daughter was never meant to be working at the venue where she died.
Jerome and Astrid Panine say they are still struggling to comprehend how their “happy-go-lucky” daughter Cyane ended up in the basement of Le Constellation in the early hours of New Year’s Day, where a fire killed 40 people and injured more than 100.
Speaking at their home in Sète, southern France, the couple said the nickname ‘La Fille au Casque’ (‘the girl in the helmet’) has unfairly reduced their daughter to a symbol of catastrophe.
No matter that Cyane was allegedly following instructions from one of the bar’s owners to “get the atmosphere going”, her parents say she has been cruelly scapegoated.
Her mother Astrid, 64, told the Daily Mail: “Cyane was spontaneous, radiant and full of heart.
“She possessed a beauty that went beyond the physical. She embodied it.
More on the Swiss bar blaze
“She trusted people without the slightest suspicion. She paid the ultimate price for this with her life.”
Cyane Panine, 24, had travelled to the Alpine resort in late November for seasonal work.
On the morning of New Year’s Eve, she started her shift at a gourmet burger restaurant owned by the same couple, before being sent later that day to “Le Constel”.
For most of the night, she was stationed on the ground floor, welcoming guests and directing them to tables where customers reportedly agreed to minimum spends of around £900.
Many of those guests were sent to the basement, which had been renovated by owner Jacques Moretti in 2015, when the bar was expanded from a simple café into a packed nightclub.
He is alleged to have narrowed the basement staircase from three metres to just one.
Cyane was still upstairs when, shortly after 1am on January 1, she was asked to go down the basement to help colleagues deal with a large champagne order.
According to an account given to investigators, it was Jessica Moretti who encouraged her to “get the atmosphere going” by putting on a crash helmet – a stunt regularly used at the venue – while other staff donned Guy Fawkes masks and placed sparklers in champagne bottles.
Footage from the final moments shows Cyane being lifted onto the shoulders of 27-year-old barman Matthieu Aubrun, as cheering revellers crowd around.
Mrs Moretti can be seen at the back of the group filming as the first flames reportedly erupt on the ceiling above Cyane.
Blinded by the helmet’s visor, Cyane appears unaware of the danger unfolding overhead.
Within seconds, fire raced across soundproofing foam on the ceiling, triggering a flash-over that engulfed the basement.
Music continued to play as crucial moments were lost before people realised they needed to escape.
Many attempted to flee up the narrow staircase at the same time, creating a fatal bottleneck.
Others, including Cyane, are thought to have tried a second exit, which was later found to be locked.
Her parents have claimed the door was shut to prevent non-paying partygoers sneaking in.
“If the door had been open, maybe there wouldn’t have been deaths,” Cyane’s dad Jerome, 59, said.
Cyane’s parents say the suggestion that their daughter – dubbed ‘La Fille au Casque’ – somehow caused the blaze is compounding their grief, particularly as the bar’s owners face criminal investigation for manslaughter by negligence.
Mr Moretti is being held in pre-trial detention, while his wife has been fitted with an electronic tag. They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The parents also reject claims by the Morettis that Cyane was “like family”, pointing to allegations that she had no employment contract, had complained of exhaustion, and had received no safety training.
“I cannot accept that my daughter is remembered only as the girl with the helmet,” Jerome said.
The Panines have previously alleged that the bar’s emergency exit was deliberately kept locked as a cost-cutting measure.
In an interview earlier this month, Astrid said: “Jacques had closed the emergency exit because he was afraid people would come in without paying.
“The tables cost 1,000 euros. And if you can’t even put a guard at that door…
“If the door had been open, maybe there wouldn’t have been deaths.”
Swiss investigators are continuing to examine interrogation transcripts, CCTV footage and safety records as the criminal inquiry into the disaster widens.
