A sudden outpouring of fear and desperation : starting at 1:30 a.m. on January 1st , the Constellation tragedy in Crans-Montana poured into the Swiss emergency medical service switchboard 144. Alarmed witnesses, terrified victims, and incredulous rescuers continued to call the switchboard non-stop, asking for help and providing the precious information that led to the catastrophe, in which 40 people died and 116 were injured.
The audio recordings of the desperate pleas for help arrive on the day the Valais prosecutor's office grants Italy legal assistance: Rome prosecutors will finally have access to the investigation documents.
On New Year's Eve, in an hour and a half, there were 171 calls to the emergency number, the audio recordings of which are now included in the investigation files of the Sion prosecutor's office.
The first came a few seconds before 1:30: " I would like you to come, because there's an emergency at the Constellation ," can be heard in the audio broadcast by French television station BfmTv. At that point, the extent of the disaster was still unclear, and it seemed to be a simple call for help from the firefighters. Then the drama escalated: " Please, it's the Constellation in Crans-Montana, ma'am, there's a fire, there are injuries ," another desperate person pleaded for help. "We need to send help immediately, there are too many injuries," she shouted.
The calls continued to come in until 3 a.m. In shock, many attempted to describe the ordeal they were experiencing, their words garbled. "I almost died at the Constellation. I think I burned myself. The Constellation burned down completely," another witness reported. " I think my friends died inside... Many people were dying, ma'am, call an ambulance ."
The dispatch center also began coordinating the response, and at that point, the rescuers also contacted one another: "I'm at the fire in Crans-Montana," explains one of the first to arrive on the scene. "Initial report: three seriously burned." But then the situation gets complicated: "I'm letting you know there's been an explosion..." an operator begins. "I have four dead and at least thirty injured." "We're launching the disaster plan," she replies to the operator. As news of the fire spread, parents began calling for their children: "There's been a fire. Our daughter is involved, we have no news." From dispatch, the operator replies: "I can't tell you where your daughter is or if she's there."
A tragedy plagued by failures and delays, which Italy also wants to shed full light on. The decision by the Valais prosecutor's office follows a series of initiatives from Rome.
Following the release of the owner of the Constellation and the delays in executing the request for access to the documents, the Italian government recalled the ambassador, announcing that he would not return to Switzerland "without the establishment of effective cooperation between the judicial authorities of the two countries" and "the immediate establishment of a joint investigative team."
The next day, Bern responded by opening the case to the joint investigative team, and today the green light was given for access to the documents.
(Unioneonline)