A judge in Switzerland has ordered that one of the two co-owners of the ski resort bar where 40 people died in a fire on New Year’s Eve be kept in detention for 90 days.
Swiss prosecutors have argued that Jacques Moretti, a French national, is a potential flight risk. He and his wife Jessica, who is also French, are suspected of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
The blaze at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana also left 116 people injured. Many of the victims were aged under 20.
The fire is believed to have been started by sparklers in champagne bottles raised too close to the ceiling during celebrations.
Authorities acknowledged last week that the bar in the popular ski resort had not undergone safety checks for five years.
Jacques Moretti was first detained on Friday for an initial period of 48 hours.
On Monday, a judge at what is known as a court of coercive measures ruled that he should be kept in custody for three months – a period that can be renewed under Swiss law.
It is known as provisional – or preventive – detention and is meant to last until a case goes to court.
In this instance, the court said the measure may be lifted upon payment of bail, whose sum would be set later.
The couple were placed under criminal investigation days after the devastating fire.
Moretti’s wife, Jessica, who is under house arrest, told reporters on Friday that she was sorry about the “unthinkable tragedy”.
The prosecutors have said they believe the fire started when people celebrating the New Year raised champagne bottles with sparklers attached, setting light to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling of the basement bar.
The news that the bar had not been inspected for five years has shocked families of the victims.
Venues like Le Constellation should have been checked annually, but Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Feraud said on Tuesday he could not explain why this had not been done for so long at that bar.
“We regret that – we owe it to the families and we will accept the responsibility,” he said.
He added that sparklers would be banned in local venues.
Most of the victims of the fire were young – eight were under the age of 16.
Many of the injured have severe burns. Eighty remain in hospitals in Switzerland and other European countries.
