A fire at a bar in Switzerland has killed at least 40 people and injured 115 others, many of them in critical condition.

The incident took place at a ski resort in Crans-Montana on Wednesday night (December 31), police said at a press conference.

According to the BBC on Thursday (January 1), officials said 60 patients were being treated at Sion Hospital, while the rest were being treated elsewhere. A large number of them are in critical condition.

The cause of the fire has not been confirmed, but officials have reiterated that it was not an attack.

However, some witnesses said that the fire could have been started by a ‘birthday candle’ placed on a bottle of champagne. However, authorities said that they could not confirm anything while the investigation was ongoing.

Meanwhile, Swiss President Guy Parmelin called the fire “one of the worst tragedies our country has ever seen.”

The report also said that the fire broke out at around 1:30 a.m. at the Le Constellation bar in southwestern Switzerland – a video from inside the bar showed flames burning.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the fire broke out at around 1:30 a.m. at a bar called “Le Constellation” in the resort in southwestern Switzerland. Locals said it was popular with teenagers.

Video footage showed rows of ambulances and helicopters landing to take the injured to nearby hospitals and other specialist burn units in the Swiss city.

The cause of the fire, which was initially reported as an explosion, is still unclear but authorities said it appeared to be an accident rather than an attack.