Footage has captured the chilling moment screams rang out as survivors fled from a Swiss ski resort nightclub inferno.

Around 40 people are feared dead and 100 others injured after an explosion at a luxury ski resort in Switzerland during New Year's Eve celebrations.

The deadly blast occurred at around 1.30am local time (12.30am GMT) in the Constellation Bar, located in the centre of the Alpine town of Crans-Montana. 

A clip shared on social media by a tourist from New York showed bright orange flames pouring from the bar, as dozens of people sprinted away from the blaze.

The piercing sound of yelling and screaming can be heard in the footage as the survivors dashed away from the fire in the darkness of the n ight. 

A woman who witnessed the blaze start said fire broke out when a waiter, dancing on a colleague's shoulders, held a sparkler too close to the ceiling.

Foreign tourists are among the victims, according to local officials.

Images published by local media show a building engulfed in flames and emergency services nearby.

The blast occurred at around 1.30am local time (12.30am GMT) in the Constellation Bar in Crans-Montana as revellers celebrated the New Year

Inside the Constellation Bar following the blaze

Swiss daily Blick cited a doctor at the scene suggesting that the death toll could be in the 'dozens', while daily Le Nouvelliste said its sources were describing 'a heavy toll', with 'around 40 dead and 100 injured'.

A survivor of the blaze told French news channel BFM: ‘During the evening, a waiter climbed onto another waiter's shoulders.

‘He was holding a birthday candle, which was very close to the ceiling, and [the ceiling] caught fire in a couple of minutes.’

Another women said: ‘The staircase leading out of the nightclub was extremely narrow. There was a huge surge in the crowd. We managed to escape just in time.’

Police commander Frédéric Gisler confirmed the fire ‘started in the basement of the bar’ and there was a crush as people desperately tried to get out via the single staircase.

Another witness, Emma, said the fire seemed to start after people celebrated with champagne bottles that contained candles.

'Some of the bottles were near the ceiling and it caught fire. The whole ceiling was in flames and the fire spread really fast. It happened in seconds. We ran outside, screaming and crying,' she told BFM.

Other reports suggest the blast may have been caused by fireworks - however police say this is yet to be confirmed.

A witness added that 'countless' ambulances and several helicopters raced to the scene.

'There has been an explosion of unknown origin,' Gaetan Lathion, a police spokesman in Wallis canton in southwestern Switzerland said.

Rescuers and fire-fighters work at the site of an explosion that ripped through a bar in Crans-Montana on January 1, 2026