Flames apparently started by sparklers, prosecutor says

Valais attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said the fire appeared to have started from "sparklers put on bottles of champagne that was moved too close to the ceiling".

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She said: "Everything leads us to believe the fire was started from sparkling candles or sparklers put on bottles of champagne that were moved too close to the ceiling.

"From that a blaze began very quickly...There are videos that have been analysed; there are people who have been interviewed and reports have been made." Lists have been provided of those who were present on New Year's Eve, she added.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani has said three of the hospitalised casualties following the New Year's fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, Switzerland, are not identifiable, CNN reported. "There are still three injured that have not been identified, and they might be Italian," Tajani said to reporters on his arrival to the Swiss resort, adding, six Italians remain missing and 13 of those injured are Italian.