[Charlotte Niddam/TikTok]
A former student at two British schools has been confirmed as one of the victims killed in a fire at a Swiss ski resort.
In a post on social media, Charlotte Niddam’s family announced her death “with great sadness” and said that details of her funeral arrangements will be made in due course. The Secretary for Foreign Affairs Yvette Cooper also confirmed the news in a post on X.
This is as officials in Switzerland said on Sunday that they had identified all 40 victims of the New Year’s fire in a bar in Crans-Montana.
Charlotte, believed to be 15, previously attended Immanuel College, a private school in Hertfordshire and the Jewish Free School in north-west London.
In the statement on Facebook, Charlotte’s family wrote: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful daughter and sister Charlotte.
“Details on the funeral arrangements will follow shortly. It is most likely on Thursday in Paris.
“Thank you for all your support these past few days.”
According to the Crans-Montana resort website, Charlotte had been working as a babysitter in the area.
Yvette Cooper said it is “terrible news” that Charlotte has been identified as one of the victims of the fire.
“My thoughts are with all her family and friends after this devastating loss,” she wrote on X.
After the fire, Immanuel College said it was “praying for a miracle”.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin called the fire “one of the worst tragedies” experienced by the country.
The bar that was the scene of the fire, Le Constellation in the resort of Crans-Montana, was full of Swiss people and tourists celebrating the New Year in the early hours of Thursday when the fire started in the basement area.
The prosecutors said that, according to the first investigations, the probable cause of the fire was sparklers on champagne bottles that were being carried “too close to the ceiling”.
An investigation into the causes of the fire will focus on the materials used in the site, the fire safety measures of the bar, its capacity and the number of people inside at the time, said the Attorney General of the Valais Beatrice Pilloud.
On Sunday, the Valais cantonal police said that all the victims were identified and were between 14 and 39 years old.
The victims came from seven countries – although several had different nationalities.
The Swiss police said that one of those identified victims was a 15-year-old who had triple citizenship with France, Israel and the United Kingdom.
Other nationalities include Portuguese, Romanian, Belgian, French, Italian and Swiss.
Another 35 people injured in the fire have been transferred to specialist burn units outside Switzerland as the country struggles to cope with the magnitude of the tragedy.