Image source, EPA

In the past hour, we had a major update from Swiss authorities about the fire in the Crans-Montana bar:

• "Several dozen" people are presumed dead, with at least 100 injured
• The victims are of several different nationalities, and work to identify them is ongoing
• Most of the injured have "significant" injuries with severe burns

• Some 10 helicopters, 40 ambulances and 150 responders were sent to the scene
• The emergency operation will continue into the coming days
• Valais hospital's intensive care unit is now full, with patients being sent elsewhere for specialist burns treatment
• Officials warned people to take extra care and not add unnecessary pressure to hospitals

• No cause of the fire was mentioned - but the prosecutor ruled out an attack

As we've reported, Swiss authorities believe "several dozen" people have died in the fire - and say they can't be more specific.

Now, the Italian foreign ministry, citing Swiss police, say they believe around 40 people have died.

The ministry adds the victims could not be immediately identified because of the severity of their burns, Reuters reports.

The council leader finishes by saying how the community can most help is by taking extra care to avoid needing hospital treatment unnecessarily.

Be careful in the coming hours, Reynard reiterates.

We have more detail on the emergency operation now - 10 helicopters, 40 ambulances and 150 responders were sent to the scene.

The majority of those injured are "significantly" injured with severe burns.

Most have been sent to Valais hospital - its intensive care unit is now full, Mathias Reynard, the region's council leader says.

Image source, EPA

Beatrice Pilloud, prosecutor-general, Valais canton, says an investigation is under way "to identify the circumstances which caused this dramatic situation to occur".

She says "currently we are favouring a fire and at no time is there question of any attack", adding out of respect for the families she cannot say more at this time.

She adds there is work ongoing to identify the victims and return bodies to families as quickly as possible.

"To do that there is significant work which needs to be carried out. And this significant work will require the closure of the district."

The region's head of security says several different nationalities are involved in the incident, without giving further details.

Police Commander of Valais Canton, Frédéric Gisler, says "several dozen" people are presumed dead, with more than 100 injured.

Image source, EPA

The news conference from Swiss authorities is starting now - press watch live above.

We are expecting the whole session to be in French - but there is English translation on the stream.

We will also have the major lines on this page.

Image source, EBU

We are due to hear from officials shortly with an update - you will be able to watch live at the top of the page, once it begins.

As we await further information from the authorities, new pictures from the site show white barriers installed in front of the bar.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Silvia Costeloe
Reporting from Crans-Montana

We don't know the numbers killed here - other than police saying "several". But we are bracing ourselves, we are absolutely bracing ourselves.

Look at the size of this operation; look at the huge barrier that’s been put up there where the forensic work is going on. This was a big bar, and we have seen the pictures of the fire engulfing the bar.

We hope the number of casualties is low. But we are bracing for the worst.

Silvia Costeloe
Reporting from Crans-Montana

The bar where the fire happened is a real institution here. It's been around for at least 40 years.

It's a big bar and it's not posh. But this is quite a posh ski resort, there's quite a lot of luxury here - it was famous in the 1980s for hosting the World Cup skiing, and that's coming back.

A lot of the bars are luxurious, but the Constellation was not like that. It's really big, it's got an upstairs with TV screens where people go and watch football matches.

Downstairs it just had a big bar where I suppose yesterday people would have been dancing and drinking.

You go there for beers - it's a kind of young bar. It would've been a mixture of young people, Swiss people, people coming up from the valleys to celebrate here in Crans-Montana.

There would have been a mixture of nationalities as well, you would think.

Silvia Costeloe
Reporting from Crans-Montana

I’m standing at the police cordon - you can see behind me the site of this explosion.

In the last few minutes police have been putting up these white screens as they continue their forensic work.

So far the details coming out are very small. We don’t know the number of casualties yet - but there is a fear, caused by the size of this operation.

I spoke to some people who heard the explosion, who then heard hours of ambulances afterwards.

One man told me he actually wondered whether the ambulances were because people had drunk too much. But unfortunately, a scene of absolute chaos unfolded here last night.

I drove past Le Constellation bar just half an hour before the explosion happened - there were people in the streets. There’s a big valley here, and if you’re on any balcony you can see fireworks throughout the whole valley.

It’s just a real atmosphere of shock here today.

The Constellation Bar could hold up to 300 people and had a small terrace - although we still have no precise numbers of how many were inside on New Year's Eve.

It usually closes at 02:00 local time, which would have been 30 minutes after the fire began.

It is unclear if it was due to stay open later for the 2026 celebrations.

Image source, Google Maps

We are now hearing a little more from police, who have issued a new statement:

• A major emergency response is still under way
• There are "numerous" police, fire and rescue services responding to the "many" individuals affected
• The area remains completely cordoned off
• A no-fly zone is in place over Crans-Montana

Image source, Police handout

This is a breaking story, with emergency services still responding to the fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana - here's the latest:

What we know

• "Several people" have been killed, and others injured, after an explosion in a bar, Swiss police say
• The explosion happened in Crans-Montana in the Valais region, which is popular with tourists
• The blast occurred at 01:30 local time at the Constellation Bar, during New Year's Eve celebrations

What we don't know

• Exactly how many people have died - we expect an update from police shortly
• The nationalities of those involved
• What caused the explosion - local reports suggest pyrotechnics, though this is unconfirmed
• The exact number of people in the bar. Police tell local media it was more than 100

More than 100 people were in the bar at the time of the explosion, Swiss media outlet Blick is reporting, citing a police spokesperson.

As a reminder, police have told us that "several" people have been killed - but we don't have a precise number.

A picture on social media, seemingly taken on the street outside the bar, shows ambulances and at least one fire engine.

We're working to verify more social media footage from the Swiss resort.

Image source, Social media

Will Vernon
Live reporter

A Swiss police representative we spoke to said there would be another update coming from the Valais Cantonal Police shortly.

When asked by the BBC how many people had been killed, the spokesman said: "We can’t say yet. Several."

We’ll bring you that police update as soon as we get it.

Footage on social media, apparently taken from the road outside the bar, shows a fire inside a building. We are working to verify these images.

Swiss news outlet Blick suggests the fire may have been caused by fireworks during a concert - but police say the cause is unknown.

Image source, UGC