Crans-Montana Fire: A Mother’s Goodbye Breaks Swiss Hearts
The funeral of Arthur Brodard who was killed in the New Year’s bar fire at Crans-Montana was held on Thursday (Image on X.com)
As Switzerland buries 16-year-old Arthur Brodard and other teenage victims, the Crans-Montana bar fire raises haunting questions about neglect, accountability, and preventable loss.
By KUMAR VIKRAM
New Delhi, January 9, 2026 — The funeral of Arthur Brodard, a 16-year-old footballer killed in the New Year’s bar fire at Crans-Montana, was not just a farewell—it was an indictment.
As reported by The Independent, Arthur was laid to rest under light snowfall in Lutry, his teammates among hundreds who filled the church and spilled into the aisles. He was one of seven members of Lutry Football Club who died in the blaze; five more teenagers are still fighting for their lives. Most of the forty victims were young. Most had simply gone out to welcome the New Year.
Arthur’s mother, Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, carried a white teddy bear and a single red rose—his team colours. Her words to her son’s coffin cut through the silence: “I want to hug you so tightly that neither of us can breathe. I love you with all my heart, Arthur.” Minutes before the fire, he had texted her: “Happy New Year mum. I love you.”
This is where private grief collides with public responsibility.
Swiss authorities have confirmed that the bar at the upscale ski resort had not undergone a mandatory safety inspection since 2019. That single fact transforms the tragedy from accident to failure. Fire safety laws exist precisely because crowds, confined spaces, and celebrations are a lethal mix when regulation lapses.
At the funeral, a song played: “One day in the wrong place.” But Arthur Brodard was not in the wrong place. He was where teenagers are allowed to be. The system failed him.
Swiss prosecutors are now investigating the bar’s owners, and families have filed legal complaints. Justice, however, cannot restore young lives or silence the question echoing through Lutry’s cobbled streets: how many warnings were ignored before forty futures were erased?
Arthur’s teammates vowed to fight on, “ball in the centre.” Switzerland must do the same—not on a pitch, but in enforcing safety before mourning becomes routine.
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