“I thought my little brother was inside, so I came and tried to break the window to help people to exit, and after that I went in.”
The 18-year-old man, who did not want to give his name, was speaking to the BBC after a huge fire at a New Year’s Eve party in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana rapidly turned what was an evening of celebration into a nightmare.
Police say around 40 people died when the blaze broke out in a bar called Le Constellation at around 01:30 local time (00:30 GMT) on Thursday. A further 115 more were injured, mainly with severe burns.
The eyewitness told the BBC he was close to the bar when he heard a big explosion, followed by a lot of smoke.
As others tried to escape, he went in, looking for his brother. Once inside, he described a scene of horror.
“I saw people burning… I found people burning from head to foot, no clothes anymore,” he said, adding: “It was very shocking.” His brother was unharmed.
“I went in this bar every day this week – the day I didn’t go, it burned,” he said.
