TL:DR – Parents Support ‘Girl in the Helmet’ Accused of New Year’s Eve Fire in Switzerland
- New Year’s Eve tragedy at La Constellation bar in Crans-Montana resulted in 40 deaths and 116 injuries.
- 24-year-old Cyane Panine, dubbed ‘la Fille au Casque’, died after a fire caused by flammable ceiling foam.
- Investigations reveal safety breaches and lack of fire inspections since 2019.
- Bar owners face manslaughter charges; the venue’s single staircase hindered evacuations.
- Ms Panine’s parents express heartbreak over safety neglect and her tragic role during the incident.
Parents defend ‘girl in the helmet’ blamed for New Year’s Eve Swiss resort fire | News World
Cyane Panine was holding champagne bottles with sparklers while wearing a crash helmet moments before a fire erupted at a bar in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana (Picture: Instagram)
### Tragic Night at La Constellation
Cyane Panine was one of more than 100 people inside a bar at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana when disaster struck on New Year’s Eve. The 24-year-old waitress quickly became known as ‘la Fille au Casque’ – or The Girl in the Helmet – after pictures circulated of her masked and waving champagne bottles with sparklers. That night, as 2026 dawned, a total of 40 people died, and 116 were injured after spending the evening at La Constellation bar.
### Investigation into the Fire
An investigation found that it was likely that the tragedy unfolded after the bar’s ceiling, clad in acoustic foam, caught fire. However, Ms. Panine’s parents have since spoken out at their devastation that their daughter has become associated with the cause of the incident at the venue, whose owners are now the subject of a criminal investigation. Jerome and Astrid recall their daughter as ‘spontaneous, radiant and full of heart’. Grieving mother Astrid said she would remember Ms. Panine as ‘an elusive butterfly; the kind one longs to catch and immortalise’. The couple told Daily Mail her death was a reminder of ‘all young people who are cut down in their prime’. Cyane, named for the colour of her eyes, accompanied her family on a UNESCO-backed round-the-world sailing adventure to promote water conservation when she was just 11.
Ms. Panine was one of 40 people who died at La Constellation on New Year’s Eve (Picture: AP)
### Owners Face Legal Consequences
She was considered a ‘stepdaughter’ by La Constellation co-owner Jacques Moretti, who acquired the bar with his wife Jessica in 2015. Mr. Moretti is currently in pre-trial detention because of his previous criminal record. The French couple is facing charges of manslaughter as well as bodily harm and arson, all by negligence, for which they could serve up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
### Lack of Safety Measures
Ms. Panine’s lawyer has since suggested that the waitress did not receive safety training on her job, for which she did not even have an employment contract. The 24-year-old was also allegedly forced to work long hours, leaving her both mentally and physically exhausted. Because of her lack of safety training, she was unaware that the ceiling’s acoustic foam was highly flammable and potentially lethal if set alight. Despite laws requiring annual fire safety checks, it transpired the bar had not been inspected since 2019.
### Chaotic Atmosphere on New Year’s Eve
To add to questions, Ms. Panine was instructed by Mr. Moretti to get the ‘atmosphere going’ on the night horror broke out. This specifically meant wearing a crash helmet, supplied by Champagne giant Dom Perignon, while holding several bottles of bubbly topped with sparklers. The gimmicked mask meant that Ms. Panine would not see the disaster unfolding around her as the nightclub was set ablaze.
Bar owners Jacques and Jessica Moretti are facing charges of manslaughter by negligence following evidence of safety breaches at La Constellation (Picture: Reuters)
### Locked Exits and Tragic Outcomes
A now infamous picture shows the young woman being held up by barman Matthieu Aubrun, 27, who himself was wearing a mask. Of those that died, around 85 percent are estimated to have been trapped in the bar’s basement after struggling to evacuate up the venue’s single staircase. A second ‘service door’ which could have been an escape route was locked, according to the owners, to stop people from entering the bar without paying. However, Ms. Panine’s parents believe it further exacerbated the tragic events of New Year’s Eve. “If the door had been open, maybe there wouldn’t have been deaths,” Jerome said.