GENEVA -- Around 40 people died and over 110 others were injured after a fire broke out at a bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort in Valais Canton of southwestern Switzerland, local police said on Thursday.

Valais Canton Police Chief Frederic Gisler provided the casualty information at a second press conference held in the afternoon.

"We are counting around 40 people who have died and 115 injured, most of them seriously," said Gisler.

Local media reported earlier, citing police, that a serious fire struck the bar in the heart of Crans-Montana on New Year's Eve. The alert was raised shortly after 1:30 a.m. local time. Dozens of ambulances from several cantons, as well as several helicopters, were mobilized.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the explosion, but authorities have ruled out an attack.

Valais Canton attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. "At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack," Pilloud said.

The number of people who were in the bar is "currently totally unknown," according to media reports

President of the Swiss Confederation Guy Parmelin postponed his planned New Year's address and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

The Valais cantonal administration announced that the canton has entered an emergency.