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Death toll of Swiss New Year bar blaze rises to 41

The death of a teenager brings the death toll from a fire in Le Constellation bar to 41. (EPA PHOTO)

An 18-year-old injured in the New Year bar fire in the Alpine resort ‍of Crans-Montana has died, Swiss authorities say, taking the ​death toll of one of the worst disasters in modern Swiss ⁠history to 41.

The Swiss citizen was in hospital in Zurich and died on Saturday, the statement by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Valais added, without providing any further information.

Most ‌of those ​killed in the blaze at Le Constellation bar were teenagers ‍and some of the 116 people who were injured are still in hospital with severe burns.

The additional victim was a young man living near the western city of Lausanne, two sources ​with knowledge of the matter told ‌Reuters.

On Saturday, hundreds of people marched alongside bereaved parents through the lakeside town of ​Lutry near Lausanne, carrying a large banner demanding "truth and ‍justice".

March for victims
A march urging "truth and ‍justice" for the victims of a bar fire has been held in ​Lutry. (EPA PHOTO)

"Today, we are just asking for justice and truth and afterwards we will mourn," Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, who lost ​her 17-year-old ​son Arthur in the ​fire, told a crowd of ​people carrying white roses.

The fire has tested relations with neighbouring Italy, which lost citizens in the blaze and has protested the release on bail of the bar's owner.

Swiss authorities earlier this week said they would grant the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office access to ‍evidence gathered.

The prosecutor said in a statement on Sunday it would provide no further information on the status of the investigation.

with AP

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