A ‘promising’ golfer has been identified as one of the victims of the New Year’s Eve fire in Switzerland, which killed at least 47 people.
Emanuele Galeppini is the first fatality, whose name has been made public after a tribute was released by the Italian Golf Federation last night.
The 16-year-old, who was based in Dubai, is said to be ‘widely regarded as a promising young talent,’ according to the Golf Digest Middle East site.
A statement from the Italian Golf Federation said: ‘We mourn the passing of Emanuele Galeppini, a young athlete who carried passion and authentic values with him.
‘At this time of great sorrow, our thoughts are with his family and all those who loved him. Emanuele, you will forever remain in our hearts.’
The teenager had been out partying at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Valais, when the inferno ripped through the basement, forcing people to run for their lives just an hour after welcoming 2026.
His father, Edoardo, had been out at the venue looking for him following reports of the fire, as his family launched an appeal to find him.
‘Help me find Emanuele,’ he pleaded on the Italian TV channel Tgcom. ‘We heard about the explosion around 1.30am.
‘We went to the bar, but we didn’t find him. He hasn’t answered his phone since last night. Anyone with information is asked to contact the relevant authorities immediately.’
He explained that he had sent his son a final message around midnight to wish him a happy new year.
The World Amateur Golf Ranking website also described the teenager as an ‘Italian junior golfer living in Dubai, loves to golf, compete and eat,’ and his own Instagram page described him as a chef.
Just this October, the Faldo Series children’s golf championship said it was ‘thrilled’ to welcome Galeppini as one of four rising stars.
Another 12 Italians are still missing, according to a list released by the country’s foreign ministry yesterday.
Many young people are believed to be among the dead, but authorities are struggling to identify their bodies due to the severity of burns.
Stephane Ganzer, head of safety for the canton of Valais, where the ski resort is located, told RTL that the number of people killed could increase.
She said: ‘There are around 100 injured in critical condition. The death toll is terrible and it could get worse.’
So far, we know that Italian, French and at least one Australian citizens are among the injured or dead.
‘The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,’ Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Feraud told a news conference late on Thursday, warning it could take days.
Mathias Reynard, head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental and DNA samples.
‘All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100% sure,’ he explained.
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