French soccer player, 19, badly burned in deadly Swiss nightclub fire that killed more than 40

A French professional soccer player suffered severe burns at the upscale Swiss ski resort where a massive fire ripped through a nightclub during a New Year’s party — killing more than 40 people.

The injured player was identified as Tahirys Dos Santos, a 19-year-old defender with French club FC Metz who was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Germany for treatment.

Dos Santos was vacationing in the Swiss Alps with friends when the fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. local time during New Year’s celebrations at the Le Constellation bar in the upscale resort of Crans-Montana.

Witnesses told French media that the fire started in the basement of the bar after a sparkler attached to a champagne bottle ignited the low wooden ceiling.

FC Metz said Dos Santos had been staying at a chalet and was due to return to training this week, adding that the club’s leadership, coaching staff and players were left “deeply shocked” by the news and are supporting him and his family as he recovers.

The deadly blaze at Le Constellation killed more than 40 people and injured over 100 others, many seriously, after flames tore through the crowded basement venue during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Swiss officials said the fire spread with devastating speed after flames reached the ceiling, triggering a “flashover” that caused all combustible materials in the basement venue to ignite almost simultaneously.

Swiss authorities said burn units across the country were quickly overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster, forcing some of the most seriously injured victims to be transferred to hospitals in neighboring countries for specialized treatment.

Italian officials said as many as 16 Italian nationals remained missing, while France’s foreign ministry said eight French citizens were still unaccounted for. Authorities warned that identification efforts were ongoing and figures could change.

Authorities also warned that identifying all of the victims could take days, saying many of the bodies were badly burned and could not be identified visually.

The severity of the burns is forcing investigators to rely on DNA and dental records to confirm the dead.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who had just assumed the office of the presidency just hours earlier as the clock struck midnight, called the blaze “one of the worst tragedies our country has ever experienced.”

The president said the scale of the loss had plunged the nation into mourning at the start of the new year.

The tragedy stunned the normally festive resort town, which had drawn thousands of visitors for the holiday and is preparing to host next year’s Alpine World Ski Championships.

Meanwhile, investigators continued to piece together how a New Year’s celebration turned deadly.