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PBS News Hour - Segments

News Wrap: Swiss investigators believe sparklers started deadly fire inside ski resort bar

PBS News Hour - Segments

PBS NewsHour

News, Daily News

4.11K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2026

⏱️ 6 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In our news wrap Friday, investigators believe sparklers started the deadly fire inside a Swiss ski resort bar that killed at least 40, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy named the country's military intelligence chief as his new chief of staff and the FBI says it thwarted a potential New Year's Eve attack in North Carolina, arresting a man who had allegedly pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Transcript

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0:00.0

We begin the day's other headlines in Switzerland.

0:03.9

Investigators say they believe sparklers started the deadly fire inside a ski resort bar,

0:09.0

packed with people ringing in the New Year.

0:11.1

At least 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured when the Constellation bar in

0:16.0

Crosmontana went up in flames.

0:18.8

Officials say the handheld sparklers were placed on champagne bottles and raised too close to the ceiling,

0:24.6

which was coated with sound dampening foam.

0:26.6

These are birthday candles that you can buy in shops, and we all have access to them.

0:35.6

As for whether or not they can be used in enclosed or confined

0:39.0

spaces, the investigation is ongoing. Authorities are also looking into safety measures on site

0:45.1

like fire extinguishers and proper escape routes. Meanwhile, a memorial has been set up in town

0:51.0

to honor those lost, even as the painstaking task of identifying the

0:55.5

victims continues. Many were in their teens and 20s. For this mother, wanting to learn

1:01.0

the fate of her 16-year-old son, the weight is agonizing.

1:05.0

It's unimaginable to tell ourselves that we'll live without our children, that our child has burned in a fire on New Year's Eve.

1:16.6

We don't know how and when they will be identified.

1:21.6

We gave our DNA. Now it's a question of waiting long hours to try to know where our children are.

1:28.3

The majority of those who were injured are Swiss nationals.

1:31.3

Others are from neighboring France and Italy and elsewhere in Europe.

1:35.3

Six have yet to be identified.

1:37.3

In Mexico, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck outside the resort city of Acapulco today,

1:43.3

leaving at least two

...

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