New video recordings of the fire accident in Crans-Montana put the operator of the restaurant under considerable pressure: According to the lawyers of the victims’ families, the images from a surveillance camera that were withheld for more than 100 days suggest that the owner Jessica Moretti apparently lit the sparklers on champagne bottles herself which are believed to have caused the fire.
In addition, the footage from the bar captures tumultuous scenes immediately after the fire broke out. Accordingly, Jessica Moretti left the restaurant via stairs while numerous guests were in a dense crowd.
According to statements from relatives and their legal representatives, she was there Didn’t trigger an alarm, but instead quickly got to safety.
Jessica Moretti pushes her way through the crowd of young people jammed between the DJ booth and the bar. She rushes up the stairs and gets to safety – without considering the others, writes “Il Messaggero”. She even blocks their way.
The embargo period for the videos was lifted yesterday at 2 p.m. in Sion. One of the first people summoned by the police to view these recordings was the lawyer for the family of the late Trystan Pidoux (17) from Lausanne.
«She flees while the children do not realize what is happening: although she realizes that something terrible is about to happen, she does not raise the alarm. Instead, she takes flight – yes, she runs away. Although she doesn’t have the cash register with her, her actions show that she only thinks about her own survival. “Not to those of her guests – children, all of them very young – who she leaves behind and further hinders their situation,” Trystan’s parents told the Italian newspaper.
Waitress relieved
The videos that have now been evaluated comprise around eight minutes of material from a total of 14 cameras and are currently being gradually made available to the lawyers of the affected families, “Il Messaggero” reports. A full inspection for relatives is planned from May.
The recordings are considered important for the ongoing investigation. At the same time, they seem to exonerate a waitress who also died and was previously suspected of having caused the fire. The investigations by the Swiss authorities are still ongoing. (kle)
