"Crans-Montana fell silent on Thursday evening as residents mourned the victims of a deadly New Year's bar fire, turning a popular alpine ski resort into a place of grief and remembrance. Footage shows candles, flower bouquets, stuffed teddy bears and heartfelt notes arranged near the site of the incident. Mourners can be seen embracing by the vigil, weeping as they grieve the lives lost. The fire broke out at around 01:30 local time. Some eyewitness accounts suggested a birthday candle on top of a champagne bottle had set fire to the ceiling, but this was not confirmed at the time of publication. Swiss authorities described it as a 'fire' rather than an 'attack' - and claimed there was 'no explosive device' - following reports of blasts prior to the blaze. According to the police commander, at least 40 people have died and 115 were injured after the fire consumed Le Constellation bar during New Year's celebrations overnight. Swiss President Guy Parmelin called the bar blaze a 'tragedy of unprecedented and appalling scale,' saying "no words can fill void left by loss so sudden and so brutal"."