GENEVA: The Swiss government agreed Wednesday to cover the medical costs of Italians injured in a New Year blaze at a ski resort bar.

Fire tore through Le Constellation bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort as young revellers celebrated the New Year, killing 41 people, and injuring 115 others, many of them teenagers.

Six Italians perished and more than a dozen were injured.

Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado decried the “absolutely exorbitant” hospital bills received by some Italian patients, insisting his country would not pay them. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed the fees as “an insult.”

In an apparent effort to de-escalate events, Switzerland’s government said in a statement it would not seek the reimbursement for Italian victims’ medical costs.

“In light of the scale and repercussions of the tragic fire in Crans-Montana, as well as the support provided by Italy during the disaster, ... Switzerland will — on an exceptional basis — waive any claims for the reimbursement for victims insured in Italy,” it said.

The government said 12 victims insured in Italy had received medical care in Switzerland before being transferred to Italian hospitals, while one person with Swiss insurance had received treatment in Italy.

It noted that an agreement on free movement of people between Switzerland and the European Union stipulates that each country should cover the costs for individuals when they receive care in another nation.

But it said it had agreed to an Italian suggestion for both countries to waive medical fees connected with the Cran-Montana fire, and would forego around 1.5 million Swiss francs ($1.8 million).

Meloni thanked Swiss President Guy Parmelin “for his sensitivity.” “This decision confirms the strength of the relationship between our nations,” she said in a statement.