PM Shehbaz expresses grief over Switzerland fire incident

ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed deep sorrow over the tragic fire incident at a ski resort in Switzerland on New Year night.

In a post on X, he said that Pakistan stands in solidarity with the Swiss Government and the people of Switzerland in this hour of grief.

Deeply saddened to learn of the tragic fire incident at a ski resort in Switzerland on New Year night. Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives and pray for the early recovery of the injured. We stand in solidarity with the Swiss Government and the people of Switzerland at…

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) January 1, 2026

The prime minister said that our hearts goes out to those who lost their lives and pray for the early recovery of the injured.

The Swiss police believe around 40 people died and 100 were injured in a fire during a New Year's Eve party in the resort town of Crans-Montana, the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Swiss police believe around 40 died at Swiss bar explosion, Italy says

It added that the blaze was not thought to have been caused by arson. The victims could not be immediately identified because of the severity of their burns, the ministry added.

“There has been an explosion of unknown origin,” Gaetan Lathion, a police spokesman in Wallis canton in southwestern Switzerland told AFP.

He said the explosion took place at around 1:30 am (local time) in a bar called Le Constellation, which is popular with tourists, as revellers rang in the new year.

The area has been completely closed off, and a no-fly zone has been imposed over Crans-Montana, police said, adding that the cause of the fire remained unclear.