The owner of the Swiss nightclub where 40 New Years Eve revelers died in a horrific fire was arrested Friday for manslaughter and detained as a possible “flight risk,” authorities said.
Jacques Moretti, 49, who ran the ski resort hotspot Le Constellation in the ritzy town of Crans-Montana, was cuffed and taken into custody at a pre-trial detention center, chief prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said, according to Sky News.
Meanwhile, his wife and co-owner of the club, Jessica Moretti, 40, was placed on house arrest.
They both face charges of manslaughter by negligence, involuntary bodily harm and arson by negligence — after a sparkler lit the ceiling of the basement-level club shortly after midnight on Jan. 1, killing 40 people and injuring 116.
The blaze tore through the club as trapped partygoers smashed windows in a desperate attempt to escape.
The bar had not undergone any annual safety inspections in the past six years and owners were considered reckless, authorities in Crans-Montana said this week.
“There was a culture of reckless risk-taking”, Nicolas Féraud, the municipal chief of Crans-Montana, said at a press conference. “This endangered customers and staff.”
Moretti allegedly fled with the night’s cash as flames engulfed the bar and is accused of destroying evidence in the aftermath of the fire, La Repubblica reported — though he had not been charged with crimes linked to those accusations Friday.
“My constant thoughts are with the victims and those who are fighting today. This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Moretti told reporters outside the prosecutor’s office Friday.
Moretti and his wife met with prosecutors in Switzerland’s Valais region before the arrest.
