Authorities investigating a fire that broke out during a New Year's party at a bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland have identified all 40 of those killed, police announced Sunday.
In a statement, Valais cantonal police said that following the incident, "the final 16 victims have been identified."
They included two 15-year-old Swiss girls, a 22-year-old Swiss woman, a 24-year-old dual national (Swiss/French), a 16-year-old Italian girl, a 15-year-old Italian girl, a 16-year-old Italian boy, a 22-year-old Portuguese woman, a 17-year-old Belgian girl, a 33-year-old French woman, a 26-year-old French woman, a 23-year-old French man, a 20-year-old French man, a 17-year-old French boy, a 14-year-old French boy and a 15-year-old girl with triple nationality (French/Israeli/British).
In an earlier statement Sunday, police said they had identified 16 additional victims aged 14 to 39, including four Swiss girls, six Swiss men, two Italians, a teenager with Italian and United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationality, a Romanian teenager, a Frenchman and a Turkish teenager.
Among those identified on Saturday were six Swiss women and girls aged 24, 22, 18 and 16 and two aged 21 and two Swiss boys aged 18 and 16.
Police said no additional details will be released for now out of respect for the relatives.
Identification operations were conducted by the Valais Cantonal Police, the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team and the Institute of Forensic Medicine, according to the statement.
The blaze killed 40 people and injured 119, officials have said. Most of the injured have been identified, while the medical situation remains critical for many survivors, according to the Valais police.
On Saturday, Valais police said a criminal investigation had been opened into two bar managers over the deadly fire.
The suspects are accused of "negligent homicide, negligent personal injury and negligent arson," police added, stressing that "the presumption of innocence applies until a final conviction is pronounced."
Valais Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud said Friday that early investigative findings suggest that sparkling candles on champagne bottles ignited the fire as they were held too close to the ceiling.
