Ex-detective despairs at 'appallingly high' death toll as dozens are killed in ski resort bar explosion: 'A tragic incident'

At least 40 people are believed to have died in the explosion after it ripped through the bar situated in a popular Swiss ski resort.

The blast happened at 1.30am local time, just as revellers were ringing in the New Year at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana.

Reacting to the explosion, Mr Bleksley told GB News: "Very distressing news from this ski resort, and of course, the first responders will primarily have been thinking about preserving life, protecting life when the initial firefighters and police attended.

"And then as the hours pass by, then what will be fulfilling the minds of the detectives will be what caused this? Now, when we hear explosion, perhaps a lot of people might think, 'oh goodness me, was this a terrorist attack?'

"The Swiss police are going to be holding a press conference fairly soon, and I'm sure that as daylight dawns we will get to find out a lot more about this clearly tragic incident."

Fearing that the bar involved in the tragedy may have been "packed full of revellers" at the time of the explosion, he added: "Of course, local time, it was 1:30 in the morning, so one fears perhaps that the premises was packed full of revellers seeing in the new year.

"Perhaps that would account for this appallingly high death toll, we'll have to wait and see."

Highlighting the challenges that the emergency services will have faced in getting to the scene on the ski resort, the ex-detective explained: "Now, of course, when you think about a Swiss ski resort, you would think perhaps, well, will there be challenges for the emergency services to reach there?

"Well, in ski resorts, they're generally speaking pretty well practised of medical emergencies because many skiers do unfortunately injure themselves. But when we're talking about an incident of this magnitude, I'm sure it will have put all the 999 services, as we call them here, under considerable pressure."

Noting that many hospitality establishments "don't have mains gas installed", he told GB News: "What people perhaps could bear in mind is it sometimes in facilities, in ski resorts, they don't all have mains gas installation and some businesses have their gas stored in tanks.

"Now, again, I don't know any specific detail about this, but let's all hold fire. Let's remain very, very calm until we know exactly what the cause of this tragic event is."

Reflecting on London's own New Year's celebrations, Mr Bleksley praised the police and security for their "professionalism" in keeping the capital safe.

He concluded: "It appears events went off mainly peacefully, overwhelmingly peacefully last night. And let's give our beleaguered police credit where it's due. The Metropolitan Police, together with I'm sure thousands of security staff last night would appear to have done a very professional job and I doff my cap to them for that.

"The closing of Primrose Hill of course was unfortunate, but that was not a decision made by the Metropolitan Police, that was made by those responsible for maintaining and looking after the park and and controlling access to it. They felt that 30,000 people gathering together, which was the kind of number they thought on Primrose Hill, would not be a number that they could manage safely and therefore after consultation with other partners, they decided to close the park.

"It is very, very sad. I think perhaps there needs to be a rethink so that in 12 months time people might be able to gather there to see the fireworks for free and to join in the revelry of New Year's Eve."

In a statement, a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with all those injured and killed in the terrible tragedy in Crans-Montana, and we pay tribute to the Swiss emergency services who are leading the response.

"We will continue to monitor the situation, and our consular staff stand ready to support any British nationals who may be affected.

"We have not yet received any requests for consular assistance from individuals affected, or their families, but any British nationals in need of consular assistance can call us 24/7, selecting the option for ‘Consular services for British nationals’ on +44 (0) 20 7008 5000, or contact local consular support at www.gov.uk/world/embassies."