Inside bar 'everything was made of wood...the 'whole ceiling was on fire'

“burning from head to foot with no clothes anymore”.

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The blaze took hold of the two-storey bar in the resort of Crans-Montana at 1.30am.

Partygoers described the moments leading up to the disaster, which started in the basement nightclub area.

Differing witness accounts reported waiting staff carrying aloft bottles containing lit candles, sparklers or fireworks.

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they saw a male bartender lifting a woman colleague on his shoulders as she held a lit “birthday candle” in a bottle.

The candle then lit the wooden ceiling, which collapsed.

Another survivor said: “The fire happened in the underground and went to the main floor. This is horrific. We are broken. I heard screaming. People ran out everywhere and then fire engines came.

“It was like a horror movie.”

Footage showed flames spreading across the ceiling as music blared out in the chalet-style venue.

The fleeing crowds were squeezed on to narrow stairs to reach safety. Others stopped to film the blaze, oblivious to the danger.

One who managed to escape said: “In a few dozen seconds the whole ceiling was on fire. Everything was made of wood.”

Officials said the flames likely triggered the release of combustible gases that ignited violently causing what firefighters call a backdraft or flashover.

Nightmare

The tragedy, as around 300 people saw in the new year, was initially reported as an explosion.

Footage showed plumes of smoke billowing from the building as 10 helicopters, 40 ambulances and 150 emergency responders battled the flames and attempted to rescue victims.