(Adnkronos) – Foreign minister Antonio Tajani was set to hold talks in Rome on Monday with Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, Lorenzo Cornado after the owner of a Swiss bar where a deadly fire killed 40 people including six young Italians on New Year’s Day was released from custody.
The release on bail from detention of Jacques Moretti, owner of the blaze-hit bar in Switzerland’s upscale Crans Montana ski resort prompted outrage from the victims’ families and from Italy’s premier Giorgia Meloni.
Tajani and Cornado will “agree on actions to be taken following the cantonal court’s decision to release the owner of the Crans Montana venue where the fire broke out on 1 January,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
In protest at 49-year-old Moretti’s release on Friday, and in agreement with Meloni, Tajani on Saturday recalled Cornaro to Rome for consultations, the statement said.
Moretti, whose bail was set at 200,000 Swiss francs, and his wife Jessica are under investigation for negligent homicide and other crimes linked to the blaze, many of whose victims were teenagers. Over 100 people were injured in the fire and are still in European hospitals with severe burns.
Meloni called the decision to bail Moretti ‘an insult’ to victims’ families.
Swiss prosecutors believe the fire started when revellers raised champagne bottles with sparklers attached close to sound insulation foam on the ceiling of the bar’s basement.
Meloni has called for joint team of investigators deploying Italian expertise to be set up immediately.
