The identities of 16 additional bodies were confirmed following a bar fire that occurred at the Crans-Montana ski resort in Switzerland.
The youngest was a 14-year-old Swiss girl, 9 years younger than 18. The group included people of Swiss, Italian, Romanian, Turkish and French nationalities, police said.
This brings the number of people confirmed dead in the fire to 24, authorities said in a statement. On Saturday, eight Swiss citizens were confirmed.
A criminal investigation is underway into those who ran Le Constellation bar, while families of the victims are still anxiously awaiting information about their loved ones who are reported to be missing.
Police said they would not be releasing further details about the identified victim out of respect for the family.
A preliminary investigation has found that moving bottled firecrackers too close to the ceiling during New Year’s celebrations at a bar is the likely cause of the fire.
The devastating fire left at least 40 people dead and 119 injured.
Many of the dead and missing are teenagers. Le Constellation is known to be popular with young people in ski resort towns, where the drinking age is 16.
The eight people identified and returned to their families on Saturday were all aged between 16 and 24, Swiss authorities said.
On Saturday, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, said the identification process was slow due to the severity of the burns suffered by many of the victims.
The French couple who own the bar, named by the media as Jacques Moretti and Jessica Moretti, face charges of culpable homicide, culpable homicide causing bodily harm and culpable arson, the Valais regional prosecutor’s office said.
Valais state chief prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said in a statement that investigators were looking into whether the acoustic foam in the venue’s ceiling was “the cause of the problem” and “whether it complies with regulations.”
