A teenage victim of the devastating Swiss bar inferno on New Year’s Eve has woken from her coma weeks after the blaze claimed the lives of 40 people and left around 100 others seriously injured.
Roze, 18, was working at the Le Constellation nightclub in Crans-Montana on the night of the tragedy and suffered severe burns to her face, hands, and foot.
A week after the inferno, Roze was transferred to the specialist burns unit at the University Hospital of Liège, where doctors have extensive experience treating similar injuries.
She underwent multiple surgeries and was kept in an induced coma for weeks, with medics reportedly fearing for her life for a prolonged period. Last Friday, she was finally allowed to leave intensive care and is now continuing her recovery in a regular hospital room.
‘I’m doing better,’ she told Sudinfo. ‘I’m still receiving a lot of care; my bandages have to be changed every two days. But my face is no longer bandaged, and I can talk normally with my family and the hospital staff.’
However, the teenager’s recovery remains a long and painful journey. ‘The recovery of my hands and right foot will still take time, but I’m on the right track,’ Roze continues.
‘The doctors told me I have to wear gloves for another two years,’ says the 18-year-old. But I can still use my hands. My right foot? It still hurts. I can’t walk on my own yet; it will be another six months before I can.’
Her father has been living with her permanently during her hospital stay. At the same time, her mother and three-year-old brother have also recently visited, helping her cope with the psychological trauma of the horrific night.
‘Every night I wake up with nightmares,’ she says. ‘I keep reliving what happened. I’m seeing a psychologist.’
Roze, 18, was working at the Le Constellation nightclub in Crans-Montana on the night of the tragedy and suffered severe burns to her face, hands, and foot
A dramatic video captured the moment the ceiling of a Swiss ski bar caught fire
Despite the ordeal, Roze remains determinedly positive.
‘I want to thank the healthcare staff for their kindness, and also all the Belgians who inquired about me. Thank you for all your kindness, the worst is over!’
It comes after CCTV footage from before the inferno emerged, showing a chair wedged against an emergency exit and employees using pool cues to prop up insulation foam.
The footage follows the owners of the bar, Jacques Moretti, 49, and his wife Jessica Moretti, 40, who blamed their young staff for causing the fire and blocking an escape exit.
A video released by channel France 2 appears to show a staff member at the nightclub pushing drooping insulation panels on the ceiling back into place using pool cues and paper towels, about two weeks before the fire.
In one clip, employee Gaëtan Thomas-Gilbert takes a video of this, sending it to Jaques Moretti, who replies: ‘Yeah, that looks OK. Take the others off, please.’
Thomas-Gilbert, who sustained severe injuries in the fire, previously told his father he had concerns about safety at the bar and that he was planning to resign.
Another photo from minutes before the blaze shows a chair propped against an emergency exit, appearing to block the way. Three dead bodies were found in front of it, according to Bild.
Jaques and Jessica Moretti have been charged by Swiss prosecutors with negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and negligent arson.
The Morettis are being questioned by prosecutors constantly, and leaked interview records point to them saying, ‘It’s not us, it’s the others’, Le Parisien reported on Tuesday.
Their defence strategy during some 20 hours of interrogation by three prosecutors was, in particular, to blame waitress Cyane Panine, 24, for getting on the shoulders of a colleague while brandishing two champagne bottles with lit sparklers inside.
Cyane, who died in the fire, was wearing a promotional crash helmet and did not see the pyrotechnics lighting up the bar’s basement ceiling, which was covered in highly flammable foam.
Referring to the champagne sparklers stunt, Jacques Moretti told the enquiry that it was ‘Cyane’s show’.
‘I didn’t forbid her from doing that,’ he told prosecutors, adding: ‘I didn’t make her pay attention to safety instructions. We didn’t see the danger. Cyane liked doing that – it was a show, she liked to be part of the show.’
Jessica Moretti, who was at the same hearing on January 20, said: ‘Cyane liked to deliver these bottles – she did it of her own accord.
‘If I had thought there was the slightest risk, I would have forbidden it. In ten years of running the business, I never thought there could be any danger.’
In video footage someone can be seen trying desperately to extinguish the fire, but within seconds it takes hold, erupting into a deadly fireball that engulfs the packed bar
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
Cyane Panine, 24, was killed in the blaze after fire broke out at the packed club, with footage showing her sitting on a colleague’s shoulders holding two champagne bottles fitted with sparklers
Cyane’s family are amongst those who have vehemently denied the Moretti’s claims, and they are supported by witnesses who survived the blaze.
They say it was Jessica Moretti who sent Cyane out with the bottles and encouraged her to perform the stunt using a helmet provided by Dom Perignon.
Regarding fire safety, Jacques Moretti said: ‘There was no training, but employees were told what steps to take in case of fire when they were shown around the premises.
‘Evacuate the customers, raise the alarm, and call the fire department,’ he said, adding: ‘And of course, if they had time, use the fire extinguishers to put out the fire.’
When told that one employee, referred to only as L, had told the enquiry that he had no idea where the extinguishers were kept, Jacques Moretti replied: ‘The staff has several shifts, and maybe I forgot to give this information to L, but it was going to be passed on at some point. Maybe I forgot.’
Both Morettis also blamed an unidentified staff member for locking an escape door in the basement.
‘The door was always open,’ Jessica Moretti told the enquiry. ‘There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wonder why that door was closed that night. We always said that the door was always open, and it was taken for granted.’
In turn, Jacques Moretti said: ‘After the tragedy, we learned that an employee delivered ice cubes to the Constellation and, without understanding why, closed the latch at the top of the door.’
Jacques Moretti said he later sent a text message to this employee, saying: ‘You shouldn’t run away, you should stay here and take responsibility.’
When contacted by Le Parisien, the staff member concerned vehemently denied all wrongdoing, saying: ‘I didn’t close a door that was already locked.’
Regarding the inflammable foam – which was installed at Le Constellation during renovations in 2015 – Jacques Moretti said: ‘The fire chief and the fire captain approved it.’
