Four people found dead after restaurant fire in eastern Switzerland

Updated 24 August 2026 — Swiss emergency teams have found four people dead inside a restaurant and apartment building destroyed by fire in Thusis, in the eastern canton of Graubünden, authorities confirmed on Sunday, 23 August. The fire began shortly after midnight on Friday, 21 August, and no one remains missing, according to Graubünden cantonal police.

Police initially listed five people as missing. One was subsequently located alive, while search teams found two bodies on Saturday and the final two during work conducted over the weekend. Graubünden cantonal police said formal identification of the four victims had not yet been completed and withheld further personal details while relatives were being informed.

Fourteen people escaped from the burning building, the Graubünden government said. Eight were injured: two seriously, two moderately and four lightly. According to the first police report, emergency teams took the injured to hospitals in Chur, Thusis, Ilanz and Zurich.

Initial findings place the start of the fire on the building’s second floor, Swiss public broadcaster SWI swissinfo reported, citing the authorities. The stairwell collapsed, forcing firefighters to open the roof with a crane. Almost 100 firefighters from several local brigades joined the operation, according to Graubünden cantonal police.

The building contained a restaurant and several small apartments and was completely destroyed, police said. Its partially collapsed structure initially prevented investigators and recovery teams from entering every section, although officers said the search progressed faster than expected and covered the entire property by Sunday.

Portuguese public broadcaster RTP reported that the restaurant served Portuguese food and that the building housed residents of several nationalities. Portugal’s government subsequently confirmed that a 32-year-old Portuguese woman was among those killed, Rádio Renascença reported on Monday. The outlet also reported that Portuguese nationals were among the injured.

Swiss authorities have announced no specific Belgian casualties or direct impact. For people in Belgium with relatives or travel connections in Graubünden, victim information remains dependent on the identification and family-notification process led by Swiss authorities.

The Graubünden public prosecutor’s office and cantonal police are investigating where and how the fire started. Their findings, the victims’ completed identifications and updated information on the injured are the principal developments still awaited.