"Don’t film your friends dying" - Bill Ackman advises children as he reacts to viral footage of the horrific Swiss ski resort fire that killed 40

Bill Ackman advises children as he reacts to viral footage of the horrific Swiss ski resort fire that killed 40
Bill Ackman in 2017 (Image via official X page Bill Ackman/@BillAckman)

Bill Ackman recently took to his X account to react to the footage of the horrific Swiss ski resort fire that killed 40. Ackman advised children to not film the footage of an accident like that and instead actually help people out. He also advised parents to send the video of the fire to their children and explain things to them:

"Every parent should send this video to their children and explain to them that: If you find yourself in an overcrowded place leave. If a fire breaks out, don’t pull out your phone, get out immediately. Don’t film your friends dying, break the window and save them. My father always used to say to me: “You only have one life to live. Don’t be stupid.” (Actually stronger words to that effect)."

The Swiss resort fire took place at the Le Constellation bar in the Crans Montana resort. The basement bar caught on fire and video footage that Bill Ackman reacted to shows people dancing even as the fire is ongoing. The resort fire has caused the death of forty people and injured 119 people.

Among the missing is Italian golf player Emanuele Galeppini. Galeppini is feared to be dead. As per the BBC, Swiss authorities have identified 113 of the 119 people who were injured. These included citizens from Switzerland itself, as well as nations such as Italy, France, Serbia, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal. There was also at least one person from Australia caught up in the tragic fire accident.

As per an investigation from Swiss authorities, the fire started due to sparkler candles on champagne bottles getting too close to the ceiling of the bar, with Valais Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud stating:

"It would appear that the fire started from sparkler candles, otherwise known as flares, which were placed on top of Champagne bottles. These flares were taken too close to the ceiling."

The attorney general continued:

"This led to what is referred to as a flashover incident, where the fire spread very rapidly. The investigations will focus on this foam and determine whether it met safety requirements or played a role in the fire."

Swiss authorities have also stated that they will pursue criminal charges if their investigation discovers that the bar did not follow proper fire safety protocols and other safety measures.


Bill Ackman has been amplifying comments about the Swiss ski resort fire

While he reacted with the comment above regarding the swiss ski resort fire, the billionaire has also been amplying other comments about the ski resort fire for a while now by reposting them.

One of the comments Bill Ackman resposted was by author John LeFevre, who commented on how social media had ruined people's ability to react to danger:

"The social media era has erased 200,000 years of evolution. Instead of recognizing the danger and feeling the instinct for survival, they pulled out their phones for the Gram."

Bill Ackman also reposted a comment by legal scholar Hans Manchke, who opined on how the escape door opened inwards:

"Wow. The only escape door in the Swiss bar catastrophe opened inward. You don’t need a fire inspector to see the insanity."

Bill Ackman further reposted X posts which detail the incident by examining the video footage. The footage suggests that the acoustic foam first caught fire, which then melted and dropped below on the crowd and around the bar, causing the massive fire.

Edited by Zainab Shaikh