What to know about the Swiss Alpine bar fire that killed 40

People left flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps (Antonio Calanni/AP)

Swiss investigators believe sparklers in Champagne bottles started a fire in a bar at an Alpine ski resort that left 40 people dead and another 119 injured during a New Year’s Eve celebration.

Most injuries, many of them serious, occurred when the blaze swept through the crowded bar in southwestern Switzerland in the early hours of Thursday.