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The owners of a bar that caught fire during New Year celebrations in a Swiss ski resort, killing 41 people, were set to be questioned once again on Friday.
French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti were to be cross-examined by public prosecutors and lawyers for civil parties caught up in the blaze that engulfed Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana in the early hours of 1 January.
The tragedy killed 41 people, mostly teenagers, and injured 115 others.
“The format of the cross-examination is at the discretion of the prosecutors: any form is possible,” said Romain Jordan, one of the civil party lawyers.
“I believe they have evidence that they wish to submit to both of them, first and foremost.
“Our expectation remains the same: to get answers, to know the truth and all the responsibilities, so that this can never happen again.
“This hearing is the last opportunity offered to the Morettis to tell the truth, the whole truth; the victims need this, for their grieving process and for their recovery,” he added.
The Morettis face charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
The Morettis have already been questioned twice since the criminal investigation against them was opened in the days after the blaze.
Jacques Moretti was due to be questioned again on 7 April but the hearing was postponed on medical grounds.
Jacques Moretti was taken into custody for two weeks in January, before being released on bail. He and his wife have been barred from leaving the country, among other restrictive measures.
In total, 14 people are under criminal investigation in connection with the disaster, including several current and former local officials.
No annual municipal safety checks had been carried out at the bar since 2019.
The hearings are taking place in Sion, the capital of southwest Switzerland’s mountainous Wallis canton.
Among other things, the investigation will look at the local authority’s actions, the fire prevention measures put in place by the owners and the exact sequence of events leading to the fatal inferno.
Prosecutors believe the fire started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to the ceiling in the bar’s basement level, igniting the sound-insulation foam.
Seventeen of those killed were aged 16 or under.
Most of those killed were Swiss, but a number of citizens of other countries were also among the dead, including several French and Italian nationals.
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