‘She Couldn’t Take It Anymore’: Swiss Inferno Waitress Complained of Being Worked to the Limit and Planned to Reveal ‘Exploitation’ Before Fire 

Swiss inferno waitress ‘complained she was made to work relentlessly by nightclub owners, was mentally and physically exhausted and on the verge of going public about her “exploitation” before the tragedy’

The waitress blamed for igniting the New Year’s inferno at a Swiss ski resort bar had previously told her parents she was made to work ‘relentlessly’ by the nightclub owners.

Cyane Panine, 24, died in the fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana after she was filmed holding two champagne bottles fitted with sparklers while she sat on a colleague’s shoulders.

The pyrotechnics are said to have set fire to foam used for soundproofing in the basement ceiling, leading to the deaths of 40 people and seeing 116 others severely burned.

Her lawyer has revealed to German outlet Bild that Ms Panine was ‘mentally and physically’ exhausted from working at the nightclub, and was on the verge of making her ‘exploition’ public before the tragedy.

The bar’s French owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are facing trial for multiple charges, including manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

The couple have continually claimed that Ms Panine was like a ‘step-daughter’ and ‘sister’ to them, but Sophie Haenni, a lawyer for the family, has repeatedly claimed this is false.

Her parents disclosed how Ms Panine worked both for couple’s bar, as well as their gourmet burger restaurant called Senso, opened in 2020 following Le Constellation’s success.

‘Her shift began during the day at the Senso restaurant and then continued until the early hours of the morning at the Le Constellation bar,’ Ms Haenni told Bild, leaving the 24-year-old exhausted.

She even contacted the workers’ protection service over her employment conditions, and was apparently never informed about the dangers of the foam on the ceiling or received any safety training, her lawyer claimed.

Cyane Panine, 24, died in the fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana after she was filmed holding two champagne bottles fitted with sparklers as she sat on a colleague’s shoulders

She had previously told her parents she was made to work ‘relentlessly’ by the nightclub owners

The bar’s French owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are facing trial for multiple charges, including manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence

The lawyer said Ms Panine wasn’t even supposed to be serving tables on New Year’s Eve, but Ms Moretti sent her down to the basement because several bottles of champagne had been ordered there.

Ms Haenni said: ‘Jessica Moretti asked her to go down to the basement to help her colleagues, given the large number of champagne bottles ordered.

‘Cyane simply followed the instructions given, did her job, and did so in front of the manager. She was never informed of the ceiling’s danger and received no safety training.’

The casualties ‘could have been avoided’, she said, if ‘safety standards (particularly regarding materials) had been followed and the required inspections carried out’.

She added: ‘Cyane is undoubtedly a victim.’

Moments before the inferno, Ms Panine was filmed wearing a crash helmet from Dom Perignon, the Champagne brand, as she was lifted onto the shoulders of Mateo Lesguer, 23, the in-house DJ.

This was ‘at the request’ of the bar manager, Ms Moretti, 40, a witness claimed in an official report compiled by the Swiss authorities.

The Dom Perignon ‘motorcycle crash helmet’ covered Ms Panine’s face completely with a black visor, meaning she could hardly see anything as she carried champagne bottles plugged with sparklers.

Mr Mateo, who was wearing a carnival mask that also hid his face, tragically died alongside Ms Panine in the bar.

Ms Moretti, who is currently on bail and wearing an electronic tag, has confirmed the battery-powered helmet, which flashed from green to pink, was part of a stunt designed to sell champagne.

‘These are Dom Pérignon helmets,’ she said. ‘These helmets are delivered by our champagne supplier, and we wear them from time to time when we serve champagne.’

With her field of vision significantly reduced, Ms Panine was unable to see the sparklers ‘touching the ceiling’, the official report reads.

High quality photographs show the very first moments of the Swiss Le Constellation bar fire in Crans-Montana

 A dramatic video captured the moment the ceiling of the Swiss ski bar caught fire

Ms Moretti allegedly told investigators that the bar had been using sparklers in champagne bottles for the past 10 years, a source told the BBC.

‘It wasn’t the first time she’d done it, putting herself on someone else’s shoulders,’ Ms Moretti told them. ‘She did it on her own initiative.’

Ms Haenni insists upon the waitress’ innocence, however.

‘She was torn from life in the prime of her life, all her dreams were shattered,’ she told Bild.

On Wednesday, a Swiss court imposed a travel ban on Ms Moretti as an alternative to pre-trial detention due to what prosecutors claim is a ‘risk of flight’.

She was ordered to surrender her passport and must report to police every day, authorities say.

Mr Moretti, 49, is being held in custody for an initial period of 90 days and prosecutors have also argued that he is a flight risk.

He is an ex-pimp who has spent time in prison for previous offences.

While the French couple have insisted they shared a close relationship with their employee, the lawyer insists that the Morettis and Ms Panine ‘addressed each other formally in messages’.

Ms Panine had also complained of ‘orders’ given to her by Ms Moretti.

At one point, she had to demand her contract, her work certificate, and her salary certificate – documents she is entitled to under Swiss law – but the Morettis appeared reluctant to give them to her, or to pay her a decent wage.

‘She expressed her incomprehension at her employers’ lack of empathy and understanding,’ Ms Haenni said, insisting ‘there was no familiarity’ between them.

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Ms Panine’s parents, Jérôme and Astrid, are particularly angry at the tear-filled, sentimental words uttered by Ms Moretti during a court appearance last week.

It was then that she referred to Ms Panine as ‘a sister’ and said she had asked her to ‘get the atmosphere going’ at Le Constellation, just before her death on January 1.

Ms Moretti admitted she knew the champagne sparkler stunt was being performed regularly, despite the huge danger.

She also offered a reserved apology for what happened on New Year’s Day, without admitting any criminal or civil liability.

Ms Haenni said the Panine family ‘didn’t take Ms Moretti’s apology very well’.

‘They were quite hurt, because for them it didn’t reflect her behaviour on the evening,’ she said.

‘The image the Moretti family is trying to project contradicts certain elements of the case.’

Video cameras are said to have caught Ms Moretti getting away from the scene of the fire as quickly as possible, in her car, after escaping with the till containing the night’s takings under her arm.

Ms Panine’s parents have already alleged that an emergency exit was locked to prevent people sneaking in and avoiding the table charges equivalent to around £900 each.

Ms Panine said: ‘If the door had been open, maybe there wouldn’t have been any deaths.’

Like the Morettis, Ms Panine was a French national and was buried in her hometown of Sète, on the country’s southern coast, on Saturday.

Investigators have established that 34 of the 40 who died in the fire perished on the bar’s small stairwell, which had been reduced in width by a third by Mr Moretti during renovation work in 2015.

Following the inferno, the Swiss canton of Valais banned pyrotechnic devices in all indoor public venues.

Each of the victims will receive a 10,000 franc (£9,300) emergency payment, with a fund being set up to collect donations, authorities said.

The investigation into the fire continues.