Swiss prosecutors investigating the deadly New Year’s fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana have opened criminal cases against two council officials. One is the current head of public safety, summoned to a hearing next Friday, confirmed their lawyer Nicolas Rivard. The other is a former fire safety officer, due to be questioned on 9 February, said their lawyer David Aioutz. Both officials have not been named but are called “defendants” in court documents viewed by Reuters. Until now, only the bar owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, faced charges such as negligent manslaughter and arson. The fire killed 40 people and injured 116, mostly teenagers. Victims came from Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, and Turkey, with an average age of 19. Investigators believe the blaze started in the bar’s basement after sparklers on champagne bottles touched the soundproof foam ceiling, igniting it. Questions remain about missing or hard-to-access fire extinguishers and narrow escape routes, including a single staircase. Jacques Moretti was held in custody for two weeks and released on bail of 200,000 Swiss francs. The couple will be questioned again in February. Mayor Nicolas Féraud caused outrage by admitting the council had not done the yearly safety checks at the bar since 2019. Prosecutors declined the municipality's request to join the case as a party but said documents show the council possibly failed to enforce safety rules. "There are … reasons to believe that the municipality failed in its duty to enforce regulations ... to safeguard the lives and physical integrity of the bar’s customers," one document said. The Morettis expressed “indescribable grief” and promised full cooperation. This disaster is among the worst in recent Swiss history and a major blow to the country's image since the 2023 Credit Suisse collapse, said Alexandre Edelmann of Presence Switzerland.