Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visits a memorial for the victims of Crans-Montana in Rome on January 9th.Image: www.imago-images.de
Missing autopsies, a bar operator at large and ski racing in Crans-Montana. Italy is angry about Switzerland’s handling of the fire disaster. The Valais public prosecutor’s office has been particularly criticized.
02/05/2026, 04:4802/05/2026, 04:48
“That’s a shame.”
“It leaves us speechless.”
“Switzerland lacks the will to investigate in depth.”
Anyone who has followed the Italian reporting on the fire disaster in Crans-Montana in the past few days has inevitably stumbled upon such headlines.
Six Italians died in the fire disaster in Crans-Montana on January 1st. Her relatives are disappointed by the Valais investigation.
There is a diplomatic ice age between Italy and Switzerland. Italy brought the Italian ambassador in Bern back to Rome on January 24th. He hasn’t returned to this day.
These five points are fueling Italian anger:
The missing autopsies
41 people lost their lives in the fire disaster. The Valais public prosecutor’s office has so far ordered an autopsy in two cases. In the remaining cases, the bodies were buried without a formal cause of death being determined.
The Italian lawyer Vinicio Nardo represents the family of Chiara Costanzo, who died in Crans-Montana at the age of 16. He criticizes this approach to Watson: “In Italy, autopsies are practically always carried out in violent deaths where there is the possibility of holding someone accountable.”
From a layman’s perspective, it may be clear that the dead in Crans-Montana died from burns, lack of oxygen, smoke inhalation or the resulting mass panic.
From a legal perspective, however, autopsies are central, argue experts at home and abroad. In order to hold those responsible accountable, the exact cause of death must be documented.
This is how Italy mourns its dead from Crans-Montana:
Italy therefore carried out the autopsies itself on five of the six Italian fatalities. As the “NZZ on Sunday” reports, the Valais public prosecutor’s office leaves the decision as to whether those who have already been buried should be exhumed for a subsequent autopsy to the relatives – another aspect that is met with great incomprehension in Italy.
When asked by Watson, the Valais public prosecutor’s office did not want to comment on this and all other points of criticism.
The release of Jacques Moretti
“This is a great insult to the victims and their families and causes even more pain.” This is what Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said when the Valais public prosecutor released Jacques Moretti from custody on bail.
“It is a shame for the deceased and the injured who continue to hover between life and death,” said the mother of fire victim Riccardo Minghetti in the “Republica”. And his father added: “The public prosecutor’s office continues to have no respect for the people who died.”
Unlike Switzerland, Italian criminal procedural law does not allow for release on bail. For many Italians, Moretti’s release seems as if he had bought his freedom.
Lack of compensation
A few days after the fire disaster, the canton of Valais announced that victims and relatives would receive 10,000 francs in emergency aid. Over a month later, neither Swiss nor foreign victims have received this money – including Chiara Costanzo’s family, says lawyer Nardo.
At watson’s request, Jérôme Favez, head of the social services department of the canton of Valais, announced that emergency aid would be paid out to 45 victims or their relatives in the next few days. These include the relatives of six Italian citizens.
The ski races in Crans-Montana
World Cup ski races took place in Crans-Montana at the weekend. The organizers had announced that they would adapt the races to the circumstances. So they decided not to have an evening party program or sponsor advertising on the side of the slopes.
The Italian skiers in Crans-Montana mourn the victims of the fire disaster.Image: KEYSTONE
For many relatives in Italy, it was still a slap in the face. “All those responsible in Crans-Montana are interested in is the economic aspect, saving their own image, tourism – i.e. money,” said Piero Costanzo, the uncle of the late Chiara Costanzo “Repubblica”. He called on the Italian athletes not to travel to Crans-Montana.
Crans-Montana brings back bad memories
Neglected controls, many deaths, a national tragedy. The fire disaster in Crans-Montana is reminiscent of the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa in Italy.
On August 14, 2018, the motorway bridge collapsed over a length of 250 meters. 43 people died. It later became clear that safety checks on the bridge, which was over 50 years old, were inadequate or not carried out at all – despite warning signs documented for decades.
A bridge into the abyss: On August 14th, the Morandi Bridge in Genoa collapsed.Image: EPA ANSA
Similar to the case of Crans-Montana missing recordings from public video cameras. Similar to Crans-Montana, victims’ lawyers and members of the public prosecutor’s office accused not fast enough to determine. In the criminal trial, which continues to this day, none of the 59 accused have been placed in custody.
After the fire disaster in Crans-Montana, the relatives of the victims of the bridge collapse published a letter. “We should not raise the moral finger at other countries, but rather sweep our own doors first,” they wrote there.
The criminal trial in the Morandi Bridge case began in July 2022. To date, no verdict has been reached.
Switzerland responded to Italy’s request for legal assistance last Friday. This means that the Italian public prosecutor’s office is authorized to investigate the Crans-Montana case. The Valais public prosecutor’s office and the one from Rome will meet in mid-February. Italy will continue to look closely at Valais.
Young eyewitness to the tragedy in Crans-Montana gives an emotional speech on the day of mourning
Video: watson/amber vetter