New Year's Eve nightclub fire in Swiss resort Crans-Montana kills 40, injures 119. Witnesses say bartender carried lit sparkler near wooden ceiling before flames erupted.

A fire of "undetermined origin" broke out at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana at about 1:40 a.m. local time, the Cantonal Police of Valais said in a statement.

Police in Switzerland say a fire at a bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort area is believed to have left about 40 people dead and dozens more injured.

An official said the sparklers were attached to bottles of champagne held too close to the ceiling. Forty people died and more than 100 were injured. Many of the victims were teenagers.

Swiss authorities are probing a devastating New Year’s Eve fire at a ski resort in Crans-Montana that killed at least 40 people and left more than 110 injured, with investigators saying the blaze was likely triggered by sparklers placed on champagne bottles.

Swiss investigators say sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited a New Year’s Eve fire at a crowded ski resort bar, killing 40 people and injuring 119.

The local police said that their preliminary toll was about 40 dead, with roughly 115 injured, in the early morning blaze at a bar in the resort town of Crans-Montana.