A devastating overnight fire has completely destroyed a mixed-use building combining a restaurant and residential apartments in the Swiss Alpine town of Thusis, leaving five people unaccounted for and eight others injured, regional law enforcement confirmed Friday.
Graubünden Cantonal Police, the leading authority on the incident, reported that emergency services received the first alert about the blaze shortly after midnight local time, which corresponds to 22:00 GMT on Thursday. Initial on-site assessments have traced the origin of the fire to the building’s second floor, though investigators have not yet determined what sparked the incident. The official investigation into the cause is being conducted jointly by cantonal police and the local public prosecutor’s office.
Nearly 100 firefighters from across the region were deployed to battle the fast-spreading inferno. First responders faced significant structural complications during the operation: the building’s main stairwell collapsed early in the response effort, forcing crews to use a crane to access and open the collapsed roof to extinguish remaining hotspots.
Of the 14 people who managed to escape the burning structure before it was completely destroyed, eight required medical attention for fire-related injuries. According to police, the injuries range in severity: two people are in serious condition, two have moderate wounds, and four suffered minor injuries. All injured individuals have been transported to hospitals across multiple regions, including facilities in Chur, Thusis, Ilanz, and Zurich for treatment.
Thusis is located within Graubünden, also widely known by its alternative name Grisons, which sits in eastern Switzerland. The region is one of the country’s most popular holiday destinations, drawing visitors year-round for world-class winter skiing and snowboarding, as well as summer hiking, mountain climbing, and other outdoor nature activities.
As of the latest update, search and rescue teams continue to comb through the charred rubble of the building to locate the five missing residents and visitors.