Switzerland's criminal investigation into a fire in a bar in the ski town of Crans-Montana should be broadened to include local authorities, a lawyer acting for some of the victims said, adding he would seek millions in compensation.

Jacques Moretti has been placed in pretrial detention for at least three months. He and his wife, Jessica Moretti, are under investigation over possible negligence.

A lawyer representing some of the 116 injured said Le Constellation suspended its Facebook and Instagram accounts as rescue operations were underway.

A Swiss court on Monday ordered three months of pretrial detention for a manager of a bar that burst into flames during a New Year's Eve celebration, killing 40 people — mostly young revelers — and injuring 116 others, many seriously.

UBS has criticised the Swiss government for failing to properly consider less stringent bank capital reforms, with the lender arguing that proposals to significantly increase its capital requirements have already cost its investors nearly $40bn.

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Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose books on the extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilizations brought him both fame and scorn, has died at age 90.

A lawyer for victims' families hopes police questioning the Swiss bar's French owners means "a welcome resurgence of the investigation" into the deadly blaze.