Benjamin Johnson was hailed a hero (Picture: Swiss Boxing Federfation/Instagram)
A teenage boxer who died trying to save his friend during the Swiss ski resort inferno has been pictured after all 40 people who died in the fire were identified.
Benjamin Johnson, 18, died during the New Year blaze at the popular Constellation bar in Crans-Montana.
The ‘promising athlete’, who was a member of the Lausanne Boxing Club, was hailed a hero by the Swiss Boxing Federation.
The organisation said on Instagram: ‘It is with deep sadness that SwissBoxing learned of the death of Benjamin Johnson (Club Lausannois de Boxing), a victim of the tragedy in Crans-Montana.
‘Benjamin left us as a hero, helping his friend. Our thoughts are with his family, relatives and all the victims of this national tragedy’.
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Swiss Boxing president Amir Orfia described Benjamin’s heroism as fire ravaged the doomed alpine resort bar.
He said: ‘This ultimate act of selflessness perfectly reflects who he was: someone who always helped others. Benjamin was a promising athlete and a radiant personality.
‘Having watched him grow up, first as a boxer and then as his coach, I remember him as a young man who was always positive, smiling and respectful. He was always the first to support his teammates.’
On Sunday evening, Swiss authorities confirmed that all the victims of the fire had been identified.
In total, 21 of the dead were Swiss citizens, seven were French and six Italian.
Other victims came from Romania, Turkey, Portugal, Belgium as well as one Swiss-French dual national.
The footage was filmed by a tourist from New York who told AFP that he saw people running and screaming from the party venue (Picture: AFP)
The last 16 victims identified included two Swiss twins aged 15, a Swiss woman aged 22, a Swiss and French woman aged 24, two Italian girls aged 16 and 15, an Italian boy aged 16, a 22-year-old Portuguese woman, a 17-year-old Belgian girl, two French women aged 33 and 26, two French men aged 23 and 20, two French teenage boys aged 17 and 14.
Some 119 people were injured, including many with severe burns.
Switzerland will hold a national day of mourning on Friday, national president Guy Parmelin said on Sunday, with church bells ringing across the country and a minute’s silence planned.
‘In this moment of reflection, everyone in Switzerland can personally remember the victims of the disaster,’ Parmelin told newspaper Sonntagsblick.
Another victim who died in the inferno is a ‘beautiful’ schoolgirl who went to a British school.
Charlotte Niddam, 15, was among the last 16 victims to have been identified by police and had Israeli, British, and French citizenship, reports said.
Tributes have been paid to Charlotte Niddam, who was killed in the deadly fire at a Swiss bar on New Year’s Eve (Picture: TikTok)
Charlotte’s family said in a social media post on Sunday: ‘It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful daughter and sister Charlotte.
‘Details regarding the funeral arrangements will follow shortly.’
The post said Charlotte’s funeral is expected to take place in Paris later this week.
Charlotte attended Immanuel College in Hertfordshire according to multiple reports and after the fire the school said in a statement it was ‘praying for a miracle’.
The fire likely started when ‘fountain candle’ sparklers were held aloft too close to the ceiling at the Constellation bar, the region’s chief prosecutor has said.
Authorities previously said they would look into whether the material on the ceiling of the venue that was designed to muffle sound conformed to safety regulations.
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Officials said they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.
One of the managers of the Swiss ski club tragedy that claimed the lives of 40 people has previously been convicted of kidnapping and pimping, according to reports.
Jacques Moretti is under criminal investigation for manslaughter with his wife Jessica, for the blaze at Le Constellation in the Crans-Montana ski resort on New Year’s Day.
Multiple articles in French media over the weekend have described Mr Moretti as a convicted criminal who previously served time in prison.
Europe 1 is currently reporting that he was ‘convicted and imprisoned in Savoie, France, about twenty years ago for fraud, kidnapping, and false imprisonment.
‘Since then, he has supposedly kept a low profile. Here in Crans-Montana, he owns three businesses – two bars, including Le Constellation, and a restaurant, Le Vieux Chalet, which he completely renovated last year.’
Photographs show the very first moments of the Swiss Constellation Bar fire (Picture: Jamie Wiseman for The Daily Mail)
Le Parisien reports: ‘According to our information, Jacques Moretti is no stranger to the French justice system.
‘He is known for pimping cases dating back some twenty years, as well as for a kidnapping and confinement case. He was imprisoned in Savoie.’
Quoting its own legal source, RTL, another national radio network, reported: ‘The Corsican-born man in his sixties was imprisoned in Savoie in 2005, for involvement in cases of pimping, fraud, kidnapping, and false imprisonment.’
There was no initial response to the revelations from lawyers representing Mr Moretti.
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