Funeral held for teen footballer killed in Swiss ski resort hearth | EUROtoday

A 16-year-old footballer who was killed within the New Year’s bar hearth on the Crans-Montana ski resort has been laid to relaxation.

Teammates of Arthur Brodard have been among the many mourners on Thursday as Switzerland held funerals for a number of the forty victims, most of them youngsters.

Arthur Brodard is considered one of seven members of Lutry Football Club who died within the hearth, the membership stated. Five others are nonetheless preventing for his or her lives in hospitals.

Under mild snowfall, lots of walked by means of Lutry’s cobbled streets previous a big drawing of Brodard and his youthful brother to the church, black umbrellas in hand, filling each pew and spilling into the aisles and doorway.

His mom, Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, carried a white teddy bear and a single pink rose – his group colors.

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“I want to hug you so tightly that neither of us can breathe. I love you with all my heart, Arthur,” she stated, addressing her son’s coffin after singing a tune in his reminiscence.

Other classmates and teammates additionally gave eulogies, describing him as attentive, honest, type and considerate.

Club pays tribute

At the beginning of the ceremony, a tune referred to as “One day in the wrong place” by France’s Calogero performed with the lyrics: “And it’s because they were there/One day in the wrong place”.

Brodard had reserved a desk with mates on New Year’s Eve at Le Constellation bar, his mom stated final week.

Just over an hour earlier than the blaze, he texted her “Happy New Year mum. I love you” and shared a disappearing video of them partying collectively, she stated.

His photograph, displaying him with tousled brown hair carrying a Yorkshire Terrier “Lili”, appeared in newspapers all over the world as she sought info on his whereabouts from morgues and hospitals.

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He was recognized as {one of the} victims on January 3.

“We will now join forces to fight together, to get our heads above water, regain the initiative, and finally even the score, ball in the centre,” Lutry Football Club President Stephane Bise informed the congregation.

Swiss authorities stated the bar within the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana had not had a compulsory inspection since 2019, and questions stay about security requirements.

Swiss prosecutors are investigating the homeowners and victims’ households have filed authorized complaints. The homeowners’ legal professionals didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The Lutry ceremony was considered one of two back-to-back providers for teenage hearth victims on the similar church.

Another joint funeral for 14- and 15-year-old sisters befell in Lausanne. Schools have mobilised psychological well being counsellors to assist college students and lecturers.

Twenty-one of the lifeless have been from Switzerland, seven from France, six from Italy, and there was a Swiss-French twin nationwide and a French-British-Israeli nationwide. The remaining 4 have been Romanian, Turkish, Belgian and Portuguese.