A former pupil at a British school is among the missing after a deadly inferno ripped through a Swiss ski bar on New Year’s Eve.
Charlotte Niddam, who previously attended Immanuel College – a private Jewish school in Hertfordshire – is one of the two named people confirmed as missing.
The schoolgirl, believed to be 15, has not been heard from since a fire tore through a packed bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, leaving nearly 50 people dead and another 115 injured.
A statement issued by Immanuel College confirmed Charlotte was missing.
‘We are reaching out with an urgent request for our school community to come together in support of Charlotte Niddam’, the statement read.
‘Charlotte was a student at Immanuel College, and her family have now moved back to France.
‘The families have asked that we all keep them in our thoughts and prayers during this extremely difficult time. We are all praying for a miracle for Charlotte and the others, and want the families to feel the full strength of the Immanuel College community’s support’.
Images of the missing teen were shared in a post on the Instagram account, @cransmontana.avisderecherche, set up to help locate survivors.
The Instagram account said the teen was a babysitter, and that she visits the Alpine ski resort very often.
Friends at her former UK school posted a series of pictures of Charlotte on TikTok.
One friend called Mia wrote on the social platform: ‘My sweet sweet special Lottie I love you more than the meaning of life. I need my best friend I miss you.’
Another friend, Summer, posted a compilation of videos of the two pals together, captioning the post: ‘I miss my best friend @Charlotte niddam #CransMontana.’
Charlotte and her family lived in an affluent area close to Watford, Hertfordshire, before leaving the UK.
The teenager was described by a former neighbour as ‘kind’ and ‘so clever’.
Forty people were killed and another 119 injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the worst tragedies in Switzerland’s history.
Many of the wounded were in their teens to mid-20s, police said.
The injured included 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, according to Frédéric Gisler, police commander of the Valais region.
The nationalities of 14 people were still unclear.
Investigators said on Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire at a Swiss ski resort when they came too close to the ceiling of a bar crowded with New Year’s Eve revelers.
Authorities planned to look into whether the sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether sparklers were permitted for use in the bar.
The candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, were the same type that is commonly available for parties, officials said.
Officials said they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.
Beatrice Pilloud, the attorney general for the Valais region, warned of possible prosecutions if any criminal liability is found.
Harrowing new video has emerged showing flames spreading across the ceiling of the Swiss bar with young revellers losing crucial seconds by filming the blaze instead of fleeing.
The footage, taken by French economics student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, shows flames ripping through the Crans-Montana club as revellers below continue singing, dancing and shouting, oblivious to the danger building above them.
Moments before the fire, a waitress had been seen dancing and waving a lit sparkler beneath foam soundproofing panels on the ceiling, which then caught light.
Several people can be seen holding up their phones as the fire grows overhead, apparently unaware they are capturing the moments before disaster strikes.
Some can be seen frantically trying to extinguish the inferno, but within seconds it took hold, erupting into a deadly fireball that engulfs the packed bar.
As the horror unfolded, Ferdinand escaped – then made the extraordinary decision to go back inside.
The brave student has now told how he re-entered the burning Le Constellation basement bar twice in a desperate attempt to save his brother and girlfriend, trying to pull bodies from the flames as chaos and smoke filled the venue.
He told how he found a badly burned person lying on the stairs and couldn’t even tell if it was a man or woman: ‘Their clothes were burned, I could only make out teeth.’
He recalled: ‘I tried to grab this person who was really heavy, but there was no tension in their arm. I just slid him on the ground, then the police and firemen took over from me.’
Ferdinand, 19, said the New Year’s party had begun joyfully for him and his friends.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘We were in a group of seven, sitting on the veranda at first, on the first floor. We were having a nice party, and we went back and forth between the first floor and the cave (basement).
‘At one moment I saw someone order these champagne bottles and I saw the waitresses take the bottles on their shoulders with sparklers on top.
‘Then one of the sparklers set light to the roof, which was made of insulating foam. I saw the roof catch fire and I went under the bar.
‘And I found some water in the mini fridge. I tried throwing the water on the fire, but the fire had already spread on the whole roof, and it had no effect.’
Ferdinand added that after throwing water on the fire: ‘I went back down, I took my girlfriend’s arm and I screamed to everyone, get out. I pushed my girlfriend as hard as I could up the stairs.
‘There were so many people in the stairs that I lost her arm.
‘I fell on the ground. I could reach the top of the stairs and I fell on my stomach. My first reflex was to cover my face with my arms and I closed my eyes. At this moment I suppose someone opened the front door.
‘This brought lots of air inside, which also fuelled the fire. And the fire turned into a fireball. I felt this fireball over my head, it slightly burned my neck.
‘At this moment the fire took all the breathable air and I couldn’t breathe anymore.
‘So in a last hope I took the foot of the table and grabbed myself out. At this moment I couldn’t find anyone. I got out near the cinema. I couldn’t find anyone.’
Then the young man took the courageous decision to return inside the inferno, hoping to save his brother and his girlfriend.
‘I went back inside. I found someone, I suppose, I hope he was just unconscious. But my prayers are that he’s still alive. I grabbed him in the stairs and I took him out.
‘The firemen took him. And I still couldn’t find anyone. I went back inside but I couldn’t breathe anymore.
‘There was too much smoke and I couldn’t breathe. So I went back out. I found a friend of mine who was really burned. He asked me, where is your girlfriend?
‘I found my girlfriend completely in shock. She told me my brother and his friends were near the bank over there.’
Ferdinand’s brother is in a coma in hospital, among the injured, but is expected to make a recovery, he said.
