San Francisco Frontiers - Swiss bar owners face wrath of bereaved families

Ten or so relatives were outside the hearing venue in Sion, waiting for French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti, who own Le Constellation in the ski resort of Crans-Montana.

The bar caught fire in the early hours of January 1, with 41 people, mostly teenagers, losing their lives, and another 115 injured in the blaze, most of whom remain in hospitals and rehabilitation clinics.

Prosecutors believe the fire started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to the ceiling in the bar's basement level, igniting the sound insulation foam.

Gulcin Kaya, the mother of an 18-year-old who died in the fire, approached the Morettis in the scrum as they arrived, shouting at them: "Where is my son? Where is he?"

Jacques Moretti replied: "We will take responsibility, we will face up to it, we promise you, we are here for justice," while his wife, in tears, struggled to make her way inside.

- Families 'destroyed' -

"You killed my big brother, you bitch, do you understand! Look me in the eyes: you killed my brother," shouted 14-year-old Tobyas, the brother of Trystan Pidoux, 17, who died in the fire.

He told reporters: "I'd like her to see how she destroyed families. Not only did she kill people, but she destroyed the families behind them."

He said of his brother: "I can't believe I'll never see him again."

The boys' father Christian Pidoux wore a t-shirt bearing a picture of his deceased son.

"We're doing this so that it never happens again. That's our goal: never again," he told reporters.

"It's only so that they see the eyes of the fathers, brothers, sisters," he said.

"Some children melted -- they no longer have a face, a nose, a mouth, an ear."

Samhare Saleh, a friend of the Pidoux family, said: "We demand justice, we demand the truth for all those children who have died and those who are still in the hospital, who are between life and death."

Switzerland's Federal Office for Civil Protection told AFP that as of Monday, 39 patients were being treated in burns centres abroad, while Swiss news agency ATS said 25 remained in Swiss hospitals, with further patients in rehabilitation clinics.

- Call for calm -

The Morettis are under criminal investigation, facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

Two others are also under criminal investigation -- Crans-Montana's current head of public safety and a former fire safety officer in the town.

Lawyer Romain Jordan, who represents several families, called for "dignity, serenity and respect" all round.

He said the deputy public prosecutor had "appealed for calm", adding: "I believe that call was heard."

- 'No forgiveness' -

Trystan Pidoux's mother Vinciane Stucky went inside and witnessed Thursday's interview.

During the hearing, "Jacques Moretti tried to ask me for forgiveness, but I told him to look away and stare at the floor, because you don't ask for forgiveness for things like that," she said.

During a break on Wednesday, the Morettis met with Leila Micheloud, the mother of two daughters injured in the blaze. They spoke for around 20 minutes.

"There was no forgiveness... I do not forgive them, I listened to them and that's where it stops," Micheloud said Thursday on Facebook, adding that the meeting was "impromptu".

He told AFP that a complaint had been filed against the president of Crans-Montana commune.

V.Mitchell--SFF