"We count around 40 people who have died and around 115 injured, most of them seriously," Frederic Gisler, police commander in the Wallis canton in southwestern Switzerland, told reporters, according to the AFP

Swiss President Guy Parmelin described the fire as "one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced"

The blast occurred at around 1.30 am, Valais Police Spokesperson Gaetan Lathion told the Keystone-SDA news agency

Emergency services rushed to the site soon after the explosion, as authorities worked to evacuate people trapped inside the building

The impact of the incident was felt well beyond Crans-Montana