Parents defend ‘girl in the helmet’ blamed for New Year’s Eve Swiss resort fire
Cyane Panine was one of more than 100 people inside a bar at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana when disaster struck on New Year’s Eve.
The 24-year-old waitress quickly became known as ‘la Fille au Casque’ – or The Girl in the Helmet – after pictures circulated of her masked and waving champagne bottles with sparklers.
That night, as 2026 dawned, a total of 40 people died and 116 were injured after spending the evening at La Constellation bar.
An investigation found that it was likely that the tragedy unfolded after the bar’s ceiling, clad in acoustic foam, caught fire.
However Ms Panine’s parents have since spoken out at their devastation that their daughter has become associated with the cause of the incident at the venue, whose owners are now the subject of a criminal investigation.
Jerome and Astrid recall their daughter as ‘spontaneous, radiant and full of heart’.
Grieving mother Astrid said she would remember Ms Panine as ‘an elusive butterfly; the kind one longs to catch and immortalise’.
The couple told Daily Mail her death was a reminder of ‘all young people who are cut down in their prime’.
Cyane, named for the colour of her eyes, accompanied her family on a UNESCO-backed round the world sailing adventure to promote water conservation, when she was just 11.
She was considered a ‘stepdaughter’ by La Constellation co-owner Jacques Moretti, who acquired the bar with his while Jessica in 2015.
Mr Moretti is currently in pre-trial detention because of his previous criminal record.
The French couple are facing charges of manslaughter as well as bodily harm and arson, all by negligence, for which they could serve up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Ms Panine’s lawyer has since suggested that the waitress did not receive safety training on her job, for which she did not even have an employment contract.
The 24-year-old was also allegedly forced to work long hours, leaving her both mentally and physically exhausted.
Because of her lack of safety training, she was unaware that the ceiling’s acoustic foam was highly flammable and potentially lethal if set alight.
Despite laws requiring annual fire safety checks, it transpired the bar had not been inspected since 2019.
To add to questions, Ms Panine was instructed by Mr Moretti to get the ‘atmosphere going’ on the night horror broke out.
This specifically meant wearing a crash helmet, supplied by Champagne giant Dom Perignon, while holding several bottles of bubbly topped with sparklers.
The gimmicked mask meant that Ms Panine would not see the disaster unfolding around her as the nightclub was set ablaze.
A now infamous picture shows the young woman being held up by barman Matthieu Aubrun, 27, who himself was wearing a mask.
Of those that died, around 85 per cent are estimated to have been trapped in the bar’s basement after struggling to evacuate up the venue’s single staircase.
A second ‘service door’ which could have been an escape route was locked, according to the owners to stop people from entering the bar without paying.
However Ms Panine’s parents believe it further exacerbated the tragic events of New Year’s Eve.
”If the door had been open, maybe there wouldn’t have been deaths,’ Jerome said.
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