Death Toll Rises to 40 After New Year’s Eve FIre at Swiss Ski Resort injures hundreds

May those that lost their life Rest in Peace.

he official death toll still stands at 40, officials said on Friday.

Of the 119 people injured, 71 were Swiss nationals, 14 were French, 11 Italian, four Serbian, and one each from Bosnia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal, Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government of the Valais canton, told Friday’s news conference. The nationality is unknown for 14 of those injured.

On Thursday evening, mourners had arranged hundreds of candles at a traffic circle near the venue, which had by this point been covered up in white plastic by authorities. There was an air of somber stillness, with the mostly young crowd sharing hugs, and expressions of shock and disbelief.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin described it Thursday as “one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced.” – via NBC News