(NewsNation) — Grace Rocoffort de Vinnière was on her way home from a New Year’s Eve party in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, when she saw a woman running toward the Constellation bar, crying.
“That’s when my friend and I looked at each other, and we said wow…there’s something really bad going on,” Rocoffort de Vinnière told NewsNation.
She noticed ambulances speeding by and several helicopters circling overhead. What had been a night of celebration in the Swiss ski resort town quickly turned into a large-scale emergency response.
The chaos had been triggered by a fire inside Le Constellation bar, a blaze that killed about 40 people and injured 115 others, according to local authorities. Investigators are still determining the exact number of casualties and identifying those who died.
Rocoffort de Vinnière, who lives in Crans-Montana full-time, said the bar was especially popular with young people and believes many of the victims could be between 15 and 21 years old. It’s a reality that has weighed heavily on her since finding out what happened.
“It’s like having a flashback of my teenage years, when I used to go there,” she said. “It could have been me.”
Officials are still investigating what caused the fire, as residents in the community work to determine who is missing. Many have turned to social media to share photos and names of loved ones in hopes of finding them.
The ski town is a popular tourist destination that draws visitors from around Europe, many of whom are there for the holiday.
Among the survivors was Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris, who told the Associated Press that one of his friends died in the fire and that “two or three” others were missing.
He said he felt like he was suffocating and first hid behind a table before running upstairs, where he tried to break a Plexiglas window to escape. It eventually fell out of its casing, allowing him to get out.
“I’m still in shock,” Clavier told AP.
Rocoffort de Vinnière said none of her family or close friends were hurt, but she has been thinking about those who were.
“There are moments where you cry because you’re just extremely sad because you put yourself in the shoes of the parents,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.