The married couple are also accused of shirking their safety responsibilities

THE couple who ran the Swiss resort bar where 40 people were killed have been accused of destroying evidence by blocking social media accounts in the aftermath of the devastating blaze.

Jacques, 49, and Jessica Moretti, 40, are suspected of manslaughter by negligence after allegations of insufficient safety standards emerged following the fatal New Year’s Eve inferno.

The owners of Le Constellation are accused of disabling their social media accounts during rescue operationsCredit: EPA
 

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Jacques Moretti, 49, bought the bar with his 40-year-old wife Jessica Moretti in 2015Credit: X
 

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Sparklers were held up shortly before the fire as the cladding begins to burn on the ceiling

Romain Jordan, a lawyer representing some of the 116 injured – many teenagers left with catastrophic burns – has claimed that the Le Constellation bar suspended its Facebook and Instagram accounts while rescue operations were ongoing.

He told The Times that the accounts were blocked between “3am and 6.30am”, adding: “It’s curious that while the emergency operation was under way, someone was thinking about this.”

He claimed that the venue had been advertising its New Year festivities prior to suspensions and said: “They showed how the bar was, and [the suspension] shows that the question of security came to the managers’ minds straight away.”

The blaze broke out at 1.30am after sparklers fixed to champagne bottles set fire to flammable acoustic foam on the ceiling.

An ex-firefighter claimed the material was “essentially the same” as the cladding used on Grenfell Tower.

Images from before the tragic fire show a bartender in a crash helmet holding a lit sparkler aloft while on the shoulders of another employee wearing a Guy Fawkes mask.

An inferno engulfed the basement nightclub within minutes in what is known as a “flashover” fire, where all combustible materials in a room ignite simultaneously.

Partygoers trapped inside the bar were left with only a narrow staircase leading up to the main exit.

Two employees claim that fire extinguishers were often locked away and the venue’s emergency exit door was often bolted shut.

Known only as Maxime and Sarah, the former staff said that fire safety training at the bar in Crans Montana, Switzerland, had been “dicey”.

Maxime told BFM: “I always said that if waitresses held up sparklers and they came into contact [with the ceiling], everything could go up in flames.

“There was definitely a risk and the safety measures were a bit dicey … staff weren’t briefed on fire safety and the emergency exit was sometimes blocked or locked.”

The Crans-Montana council further admitted that the bar had not undergone its annual safety inspection for over five years.

Local president Nicolas Féraud admitted the failure, saying “we bitterly regret this” and adding “there’s no question of shirking our responsibilities” in the ongoing investigation.

Jordan has also called on prosecutors to dig into the council’s failings and told The Times that they had been reluctant to highlight its dysfunctional fire safety.

He said: “My clients want answers.

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A waitress is seen holding a lit sparkleron a champagne bottle in the air moments before the ceiling starts to catch fireCredit: Enterprise
 

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The fire killed 40 partygoers at the ski resort bar owned by the MorettisCredit: Ferdinand Du Beaudiez
 

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Police officers and firefighters work outside Le Constellation bar in the fire’s aftermathCredit: Reuters
“They want the chain of responsibility that led to this drama to be clearly established.

“The managers are being investigated but the council must be investigated too. No questions must be ignored.”

Valais Police are continuing their probe into the Morettis, who are currently suspected of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and negligent arson.

Jacques, in a previous interview, maintained the couple’s innocence, saying “everything was done according to the standards,” and that the venue had been inspected multiple times since they had taken it over.

The couple released a joint statement on Tuesday, saying that they are “devastated, invaded by sorrow and thinking constantly of the victims” and also added that they would “in no way try to shirk” responsibility.

A poignant remembrance procession took place in Crans-Montana on Sunday as more than 2,000 mourners walked in silence from a church service to the scene of the deadly fire.

Residents young and old wiped tears from their eyes during the hour-long service as flags outside flew at half mast.

Some cradled floral bouquets as the procession made its way beneath blue skies and bright sunlight.

The silence was only broken by spontaneous applause for the firefighters who fought the flames as they joined them up the hill.

At the shrine the swelling crowds stood still, many of them weeping.

One local said: “We are going through a moment of crushing darkness but we are going through it together.”

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People gather around a makeshift memorial to pay their respects by laying flowers, candles and messages near the Constellation barCredit: AFP
 

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Firefighters were pictured shedding tears amongst Sunday’s mournersCredit: Reuters