Laetitia Broadard-Sitre has not heard from her 16-year-old son Arthur since the Swiss ski resort fire began yesterday.

A mum is among desperate parents who continue to search for answers after kids as young as 16 died in the Swiss New Year fire disaster. Laetitia Broadard-Sitre last heard from her son just minutes before the fire.

Arthur, 16, texted his mum shortly after midnight to wish her a Happy New Year from the Le Constellation bar in the upmarket ski resort of Crans-Montana. Speaking to our sister title, the Mirror, Laetitia, 42, said: “It’s an unbearable wait. I won’t stop searching, I won’t give up.”

Other relatives of the missing – who include Diana Gonset, 14, and Alicia Gonset, 15 – were yesterday posting photos and details of loved ones in the hope that they may yet be found alive. Family of the pair, who are believed to be sisters, shared a photo of them standing side-by-side dressed in party attire.

Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, 42 is searching for her 16yr old son Arthur (Image: Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

The Gonsets are thought to have been at the bar with Charlotte Niddam, also believed to be aged 15 and previously attended Emmanuel College, a private Jewish school in Watford, where they lived for several years before moving to Switzerland.

Writing online, Melissa Rey also appealed for information about her sister Caroline. She went missing alongside two of her friends, Mariam Essouri and Emilie Pralong – whose family posted: “Emilie Pralong, where are you? We love you.”

Alice Kallergis, 15, has also been reported missing with family appealing online. Her brother Romain who claimed he saw kids aged between 13 and 15 in the bar.

Arthur was at the Constellation Bar in Crans-Montana when the fire broke out on New Years Day(Image: Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

Zelie Fournier and Dalia Benkirane are others among the missing and their familes were also searching for the young girl’s whereabouts. Noémie Dabin reportedly went missing after going to the bar after work.

The mum of 16-year-old Giovanni Tamburi, from Bologna, also launched an appeal to find her son. She said: “We’re calling all the hospitals, but nobody knows anything, especially since the patients are in terrible condition.”

Achille Barosi, a 16-year-old Italian schoolboy is also among the missing after family appealed for information. The families of Pablo Pero, who turned 16 last month, Nathan Duboux, Not Trevnot and Joaquim Van Thuyne are also searching for them.

Officials in Switzerland have said it could take a number of days before they can identify all the victims of the fire at the the ski resort which is around a two-hour drive from Geneva. Yesterday, they announced that some 119 people, including 80 who remained in “critical” condition, are being treated in hospital, amid fears the death toll may yet rise further.

Laetitia Brodard-Sitre is desperate for information on her son(Image: Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

Among the injured are 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French, 11 Italian, four Serbs, a Bosnian, Luxembourger, Belgian, Pole and Portuguese. The nationality of 14 others remains unknown.

Efforts to identify those who died in the fire are ongoing and police are in contact with officials in several countries to help their investigations

Questions were last night being raised about an apparent lack of visible exits in the bar, as well as allegedly breaching its 300-person capacity. There were also unverified claims about a lack of ID checking and about the bar allegedly allowing smoking indoors.

The criminal investigation last night continued as an official announced investigators believe the fire was caused by party sparklers which spread to the venue’s ceiling. Valais attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said the Swiss prosecution service is “sparing no effort in order to determine the circumstances.

The footage showed the fire was able to take hold and spread in a matter of seconds

She said: “It would appear that the fire started from sparkler candles, otherwise known as flares, which were placed on top of champagne bottles.

“These flares were taken too close to the ceiling. This led to what is referred to a flashover incident, where the fire spread very rapidly.”

Ms Pilloud said the bar’s owners, French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti, were interviewed as “people called to give information”, not under caution. She added: “We will be able to investigate whether any individuals bear criminal liability for this incident.

“And if this is the case and if these people are alive, all the investigations will be opened for fire by negligence, homicide by negligence and injuries by negligence.”

Her comments came after disturbing footage emerged showing a flaming sparkler being carried through the bar just inches away from the ceiling, which appeared to be made of sound-absorbing foam.

Other film also included party-goers carrying on singing and dancing to blaring music, seemingly oblivious to the danger they were in, as the blaze began. The Pope sent a message of support as local officials yesterday announced a memorial ceremony will be held in Crans-Montana on January 9 allowing the community “to live this national mourning together”.

It was also declared that a book of condolences will be put online from Saturday for anyone who wants to share a message of support. And amid the horror, there were also examples of heroism, including by student Ferdinand Du Beaudiez, 19, who told how he bravely went backwards and forwards from the bar while the fire raged in a selfless bid to save lives.

Fire rips through bar at Swiss ski resort

He had been partying inside with six loved ones, including his brother, who remains in a coma, when he witnessed the fire start at around 1.30am. Returning to the scene of the disaster for the first time yesterday, he gave remarkable testimony about what he witnessed before telling how he attempted to use water to put the fire out.

He said: “I saw someone order these champagne bottles and I saw the waitresses take the bottles on their shoulders. The fire spread on the whole roof. I threw some water, but it didn’t help anything.

“At this moment I suppose someone opened the front door. This led to lots of air getting inside, which provided some air to the fire. And the fire turned into a fireball.”

Describing his bravery after getting outside, Ferdinand, who is from Paris and studying finance and economics at Munich University, said: “I couldn’t find anyone so I went back inside.

“I found someone, I suppose, I hope he was just unconscious. But my prayers are that he’s still alive. I grabbed him in the stairs and I took him out. I found someone laying in the stairs. This person was completely burned. Clothes were burned. I couldn’t recognise if it was a woman or a man.

“I could only see teeth. I grabbed this person who was really heavy. I slid him on the ground and he was being taken care of outside by a policeman and firemen.” Ferdinand added: “It was terrifying. It felt like a war scene.”