Five people missing after major fire in Graubünden

Five people are missing after a major overnight fire tore through a mixed-use building in Thusis, sending a large emergency operation into the heart of Graubünden. The blaze engulfed a property housing a restaurant and several apartments, leaving it completely gutted and forcing residents into a desperate escape shortly after midnight.

Fourteen people made it out alive. Eight suffered injuries, including two serious cases, two moderate injuries and four minor injuries. Rescue crews treated victims at the scene before transporting them to hospitals in Chur, Thusis, Ilanz and Zurich.

The scale of the response reflects the danger confronting firefighters in the mountain town. Nearly 100 emergency personnel from the Thusis, Cazis, Oberer Heinzenberg, Ems Chemie and Albula fire departments mobilised as crews battled the flames and searched the damaged structure.

The five missing people remain at the centre of the operation. Police have not released further details about their identities or circumstances. With the building destroyed and access severely compromised, the search is unfolding under critical conditions.

The fire transforms a regional rescue effort into a race against structural collapse. Initial findings indicate that the blaze began on the building’s second floor, but investigators have not identified a cause. Flames and heat then compromised the structure, turning a conventional firefighting operation into a hazardous technical rescue.

The stairwell collapsed, cutting off a key route through the building. Firefighters had to use a crane to open the roof and reach areas that could not safely be accessed from below. That decision underlines the severity of the damage: crews are not simply extinguishing remaining flames; they are working around an unstable shell while attempting to locate missing people.

Fire departments from across the surrounding region joined the response, including units from Thusis, Cazis, Oberer Heinzenberg, Ems Chemie and Albula. Their combined deployment brings specialist capacity and manpower to a tightly confined operation.

Police say emergency work is ongoing. Until crews can secure the structure and investigators examine the scene, the full sequence of events—and the fate of the five missing people—remains unresolved.

Eight injured people now connect the disaster in Thusis to hospitals across eastern and central Switzerland. Rescue teams from Mittelbünden, Chur, Schiers and Surselva treated casualties before transferring them for further care. A Rega air-rescue crew also joined the response, adding a crucial link to Switzerland’s tightly coordinated emergency medical network.

The injuries span the full range of severity: two people are seriously hurt, two sustained moderate injuries and four suffered minor injuries. Fourteen residents or occupants escaped the burning building, meaning the emergency response has involved both urgent medical care and a high-stakes search for those who did not emerge.

Patients were taken to facilities in four locations—Chur, Thusis, Ilanz and Zurich. The spread of transfers illustrates the pressure created when a sudden incident overwhelms immediate local capacity, while also showing how regional services can distribute care quickly.

Authorities have not reported additional casualty details. Medical teams continue to support survivors, while police and prosecutors focus on the investigation and emergency crews work to make the scene safe enough for a more thorough search.

The cause of the blaze remains unknown, and investigators are treating the fire as an active case rather than a concluded accident. Graubünden Cantonal Police are working with the public prosecutor’s office to establish how the flames began, what allowed them to spread and whether any safety failures contributed to the devastation.

The early evidence places the origin on the second floor. That finding is preliminary, not a final determination. Investigators must now examine the building’s electrical systems, heating equipment, furnishings and other possible ignition sources, while also documenting the damage caused by the collapse and firefighting operation.

The condition of the property complicates that work. A collapsed stairwell and a roof opened by crane mean investigators cannot assume normal access through the building. Structural safety must come first, particularly while search teams continue looking for the five missing people.

Authorities have not announced an explanation or assigned responsibility. The investigation will also establish the timeline of evacuations and determine whether residents had usable escape routes. Those answers will matter well beyond Thusis, especially for older mixed-use buildings where homes and hospitality businesses share the same structure.

Thusis now faces a long recovery after a single night destroyed homes, disrupted a local business and left five families waiting for answers. The immediate priority is clear: locate the missing people, protect survivors and stabilise the damaged building. The broader questions will come later, but they will be unavoidable.

This tragedy has struck a community in one of Switzerland’s key Alpine corridors, where tightly clustered buildings, restaurants and apartments form the centre of everyday life. The response has shown the strength of regional cooperation, with fire departments, ambulance services, Rega and hospitals across Graubünden and beyond working in parallel.

However, the continuing uncertainty keeps the incident open and deeply personal. Five people are still missing, eight are injured and the cause has yet to be established. Until authorities complete the search and release verified findings, speculation risks outrunning the facts.

Police say the operation and investigation continue. Their next updates will determine whether the focus shifts from rescue to recovery—and whether the fire exposes safety lessons that other Swiss communities must confront before the next alarm sounds.