Italy will take part in criminal trial on deadly Swiss bar fire, says foreign minister

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Italy will file to be a civil plaintiff in any criminal trial of those held responsible for the deadly New Year's Eve bar fire in Switzerland, the Italian foreign minister said Tuesday.

"We have demanded, and will continue to demand, that total responsibility and full clarity be established on what happened, in part in view of the negligent behavior that is clear to everyone," Antonio Tajani told the Senate.

"It is therefore right for Italy to request to be a civil party in the trial, because this is a wound that has been inflicted on the whole country," he was quoted by Italian news agency ANSA as saying.

In addition to the Swiss probe, Rome prosecutors have also opened an investigation into the New Year's Eve fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana that killed 40 people, most of them young, including six Italian citizens.

A criminal investigation had been opened into two bar owners, husband and wife Jacques and Jessica Moretti, over the deadly fire.

The suspects were accused of negligent homicide, negligent personal injury, and negligent arson, as it emerged that the bar had not undergone an annual inspection for the past five years.

Speaking to reporters last week, Nicolas Feraud, the mayor of Crans-Montana, said sparkler candles, which were blamed for the fire, have been banned inside venues.

The investigators said that they believe sparkling candles attached to champagne bottles ignited a fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the bar.