Young footballer who survived horrific Crans-Montana fire earns first professional contract

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FT Desk

Tahirys dos Santos, one of the survivors of the horrific explosion and fire at a ski resort in Crans-Montana, Switzerland in January, has signed his first professional football contract.

The fire was apparently started by sparklers inside champagne bottles, with 41 people losing their lives and over 100 left with injuries due to the incident.

Dos Santos was injured on 2 January, suffering burns to 30% of his body, but remarkably returned to action for Metz reserves on 11 April, having undergone a series of successful skin grafts.

This week, he signed professional terms with the French side on a one-year deal.

"This moment has an even more special meaning after the difficult months I went through in hospital," he told the club website.

"This ordeal made me stronger and taught me to never give up.

"I want to send all my support to everyone who is still fighting. Never lose hope."

At the moment, it is looking likely that his first-team debut for the club may come in Ligue 2 as at the moment Metz are rock bottom of Ligue 1, 10 points adrift of safety with four games remaining in the campaign.

When the fire first took place and Dos Santos was taken to hospital, his agent Christophe Hutteau outlined exactly what the young man and his famiy had gone through.

"The day was particularly painful. In such circumstances, you must try to reassure parents even if the words may seem futile," he said.

"Fortunately, the management of FC Metz, which I met today, was of a nameless class. I have been in football for 40 years, I have experienced many situations and I must admit that the humanity of this club has particularly touched me.

"I know that the exchanges that took place between Tahirys' parents and the president or sporting director of FC Metz were of a humanity... congratulations to the leaders of FC Metz.

"Contrary to what many people can imagine, football is not only an environment of self-centered people, of navelists, it is also a very human environment.

Le #FCMetz a la douleur d’annoncer que Tahirys Dos Santos, joueur stagiaire du club, a été blessé lors de l’incendie survenu à Crans-Montana.

L'ensemble du club unit ses pensées pour les adresser à Tahirys, dans ces heures où il combat la souffrance.

— FC Metz ☨ (@FCMetz) January 1, 2026

"I did not talk to him. He was unable to express himself. I had his parents throughout the day, they kept me informed of the evolution of his state of health. They were warned this morning around 6:30 a.m. of what had just happened and the state in which Tahirys was.

"They immediately took the road from Lorraine to Sion, where he was hospitalised. In the evening, he was transferred to Stuttgart, to a hospital capable of accommodating severe burns. Tahirys' parents are currently on the road between Switzerland and Germany. It is not excluded that he will have to undergo surgery tonight, which would consist of a transplant. It is still much too early to learn more about what will happen."

The 19-year-old Frenchman, who has family ties to Cape Verde, joined his local club Metz at the age of eight and has made his way through the different levels of the academy over the past decade.

He apparently could have escaped unscathed but ran back into the flames to rescue his girlfriend, Coline.

"I didn’t think — I turned back to get her," he previously told L’Equipe. "I shouted her name, and she immediately saw in my eyes that something was wrong. She followed me right away."