Police identify first four victims of Swiss ski resort fire

Police have identified the first four bodies of people who were killed in a fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort on New Year's Eve, BBC reports.

The bodies of two Swiss women aged 21 and 16, and two Swiss men aged 18 and 16 have been returned to their families, police said.

"Extensive" work from officers and the Institute of Forensic Medicine made the identifications possible, Valais cantonal police said in a statement.

Work to identify the remaining victims continues, it added, and out of respect to the families, no further details will be released.

The fire has killed 40 people and injured another 119, officials say. The bar, Le Constellation in the resort of Crans-Montana, was full of Swiss people and tourists celebrating New Year's Day in the early hours of Thursday when the blaze began in the basement area.

Prosecutors say that, according to initial investigations, the likely cause of the fire was sparklers on champagne bottles being carried too close to the ceiling.

Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin called it "one of the worst tragedies" experienced by the country.

Families of missing teenagers are facing an agonising wait for information, as most of the 40 victims and six of those injured are yet to be identified.