Charlotte Niddam, a 15-year-old Israeli who had been missing following a Jan. 1 fire at a hotel in Switzerland, has been identified as one of the 40 fatalities, her family and Israeli media said on Sunday.
Forensic teams identified Niddam’s body at Crans-Montana, the Swiss ski resort town where the fire erupted at a New Year’s party hosted by a bar popular with teenagers and young adults. She is the only Israeli known to have died in the fire.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful daughter and sister Charlotte,” the family posted on Facebook. “Details regarding the funeral arrangements will follow shortly. It is most likely on Thursday in Paris. Thank you for all your support those last few days.”
Niddam attended two Jewish schools in London, the private Immanuel College and the public JFS school, according to Sky News. She worked in Crans-Montana as a babysitter, according to that report. She was said to have been a citizen of France and the United Kingdom in addition to Israel.
Earlier on Sunday, Swiss authorities identified the bodies of 16 people, including Italian-Jewish sisters Alicia and Diana Gunst, both in their early teens.
Later on Sunday, authorities said that all 40 fatalities, more than half of them teenagers, had been identified.
Sparklers on bottles being carried too close to the ceiling are the likely cause of the fire, a preliminary investigation has found. In addition to the 40 dead, 119 others were injured in the fire. Some of the approximately 80 critically injured have not yet been identified.
The Le Constellation bar, where the fire broke out, was popular with teenagers and young adults in Crans-Montana, where the drinking age is 16.
The French couple who own the bar—named by the media as Jacques and Jessica Moretti—are suspected of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, the prosecutors’ office for the Valais region said.
Beatrice Pilloud, Valais canton lead prosecutor, said in a statement that investigators were looking into whether the acoustic foam on the venue’s ceiling was “the cause of the problem,” as well as “whether it complies with regulations,” the BBC reported.
