Dear members of the ESPNIC community,
The ESPNIC community has been deeply shaken by the tragic events of the night of January 1st in the ski resort of Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

Families and friends across Switzerland and around the world, including France, Italy, and other countries are grieving the loss of one or more loved ones. Many young people – including adolescents – are currently receiving intensive care for severe burn injuries and fighting for their lives.

As a society dedicated to paediatric and neonatal intensive care, ESPNIC feels particularly affected by the young age of the victims. In response to the magnitude of this event, coordinated inter-hospital transfers enabled many patients to be admitted to specialised burn centres across Europe, while several paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) rapidly adapted their organisation, infrastructure, and clinical practices to provide advanced burn care. Severe burn injuries are relatively uncommon in paediatric intensive care, and the simultaneous admission of such a large number of paediatric burn patients is exceptional—further underscoring the extraordinary nature of the clinical and organisational response required.

We express our profound respect and gratitude for the outstanding engagement, rapid mobilisation, and courage of first-line emergency responders and emergency and intensive care healthcare professionals. Their professionalism, teamwork, and compassion under extreme circumstances exemplify the core values of our community.

We also wish to emphasise the essential role of psychological support for the patients’ families and loved ones, as well as for the HCPs involved in their care. The emotional burden of such tragedy is considerable, and sustained psychological support is vital to address both immediate and long-term consequences.

We extend our deepest sympathy and heartfelt support to all those who have been physically or emotionally affected by this tragedy. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, friends, and all those who continue to suffer during this profoundly difficult time.

With sincere compassion,
ESPNIC Medical and Nursing Presidents