Italy Seeks Civil Plaintiff Status in Crans-Montana Fire Case
italy has asked to join the criminal proceedings over the Crans-Montana fire disaster as a civil plaintiff, saying the Italian state suffered direct damage. The application was submitted by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers through the public prosecutor's office, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni heading the office that made the move.
The case stems from the fire at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana on New Year's Eve, where 41 people died and 115 people were injured. Italy said the claim rests on the resources it mobilized for medical, psychological and logistical support to Italian nationals after the fire, including six fatalities and around ten injured.
Italy's claim in Valais
Italy wants to appear in the criminal proceedings linked to the fire disaster in Crans-Montana VS as a civil plaintiff. Italy said the move was based on direct damage to the Italian state, pointing to the national civil protection service's response for Italian nationals affected by the fire.
The Presidency of the Council of Ministers submitted the application through the public prosecutor's office. The public prosecutor's office commissioned a Swiss law firm to handle the matter, and Italy said the involvement of local authorities in the accident was considered highly probable.
Le Constellation fire toll
The fire at the Le Constellation bar killed 41 people and injured 115 on New Year's Eve. Among the dead were six Italians, and around ten of the injured were Italian.
That gives Italy a direct stake in a case that has already crossed from a local criminal inquiry into a question of state claims for support costs and damages. For families and survivors, the legal move means the aftermath is still moving through the courts long after the flames were put out.
Parmelin, Mattarella and Rome
Valais public prosecutor's office said on Wednesday that it had not received Italy's request. Guy Parmelin is due to be received by Sergio Mattarella in Rome on Tuesday, and the following day Parmelin will attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Swiss Guard at the Vatican and meet Pope Leo XIV.
Those meetings give the two countries a diplomatic setting in which the fire case sits close to the surface, even as the criminal proceedings move on separately. Italy's filing now waits inside the Swiss process, with the next public signal likely to come through the response to that request rather than through the ceremony calendar.
