Swiss bar owner Jacques Moretti was questioned by lawyers acting for victims' families on Wednesday, over the New Year's Day fire disaster in Crans-Montana that left 41 people dead and 115 injured.
He arrived for the hearing in Sion with his wife, Jessica, whose lawyer Yaël Hayat described the latest hearings as 'moments of truth'. Jessica Moretti faces questions on Thursday.
Ahead of the hearing, one mother told Swiss TV she needed to know what had gone wrong and why. 'What's important is that the whole truth comes out,' said Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, whose 16-year-old son Arthur died in the fire. 'There must be no more lies,' she told public broadcaster SRF. 'I want everyone to take responsibility; politics and parties don't matter to me.'
Jacques and Jessica Moretti are under criminal investigation for involuntary manslaughter, as well as bodily harm and arson through negligence. Neither is being held in custody; Mr. Moretti was released on bail last month.
The couple have been criticized by several former employees for safety failings which have emerged since the fire. Sparkling candles in champagne bottles have been blamed for setting light to the ceiling, and footage has emerged showing an employee using snooker cues to push sound-proofing foam back into place on the ceiling weeks before the disaster.
Many of the victims of the New Year fire were teenagers, and it has since emerged that a service door had been locked, preventing many of those inside the bar from escaping as the fire spread at about 01:30 on New Year's Day.
A month after the disaster, the death toll rose to 41 when an 18-year-old Swiss man died from his injuries. Survivors, like Mélanie Van de Velde, express their ongoing pain and the physical scars left behind. 'My body has become a battlefield,' she remarked, highlighting the lingering impact of this tragedy.
The community calls for accountability, determined to ensure that the truth prevails and that measures are taken to prevent such disasters in the future.
He arrived for the hearing in Sion with his wife, Jessica, whose lawyer Yaël Hayat described the latest hearings as 'moments of truth'. Jessica Moretti faces questions on Thursday.
Ahead of the hearing, one mother told Swiss TV she needed to know what had gone wrong and why. 'What's important is that the whole truth comes out,' said Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, whose 16-year-old son Arthur died in the fire. 'There must be no more lies,' she told public broadcaster SRF. 'I want everyone to take responsibility; politics and parties don't matter to me.'
Jacques and Jessica Moretti are under criminal investigation for involuntary manslaughter, as well as bodily harm and arson through negligence. Neither is being held in custody; Mr. Moretti was released on bail last month.
The couple have been criticized by several former employees for safety failings which have emerged since the fire. Sparkling candles in champagne bottles have been blamed for setting light to the ceiling, and footage has emerged showing an employee using snooker cues to push sound-proofing foam back into place on the ceiling weeks before the disaster.
Many of the victims of the New Year fire were teenagers, and it has since emerged that a service door had been locked, preventing many of those inside the bar from escaping as the fire spread at about 01:30 on New Year's Day.
A month after the disaster, the death toll rose to 41 when an 18-year-old Swiss man died from his injuries. Survivors, like Mélanie Van de Velde, express their ongoing pain and the physical scars left behind. 'My body has become a battlefield,' she remarked, highlighting the lingering impact of this tragedy.
The community calls for accountability, determined to ensure that the truth prevails and that measures are taken to prevent such disasters in the future.
