Dozens feared dead, more than 100 injured after 'nightmare' blaze in Swiss ski resort bar on New Year's Eve

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About 40 people are dead and about 115 others injured, most of them seriously, after a fire tore through a crowded bar during a New Year's Eve party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, officials told reporters during a news conference on Thursday.

Authorities did not immediately have an exact count of the deceased.

"There were people screaming, and then people lying on the ground, probably dead," said Samuel Rapp, 21, who saw the aftermath of the fire. "They had jackets over their faces — well, that’s what I saw, nothing more."

Swiss police say they believe about 40 people died, according to a statement from the Italian Foreign Ministry. Victims couldn't be immediately identified due to the severity of their burns, and officials say some burns are so severe that identification may take considerable time.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but "that will take time, and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure," said Valais canton police commander Frédéric Gisler during an earlier news conference.

"Several tens of people" were presumed killed at the bar, Gisler said, adding that the community is "devastated."

Police had earlier said many people were being treated for burns. Most of those injured were in a serious condition, said Mathias Reynard, head of the cantonal government. Valais hospital intensive care unit was full, and patients were being transferred elsewhere, he said.

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometres north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometres south of Zurich.

Some of the victims are from other countries, said Stéphane Ganzer,