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Turkey ski resort hotel fire kills at least 66 people and dozens more injured

The fire broke out at around 3.30am on Tuesday in the restaurant of the 12-storey Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu.

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Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu
At least 66 people have been killed in the fire (IHA via AP)

A fire at a popular ski resort hotel in Turkey has killed at least 66 people, Turkey’s interior minister said.

Ali Yerlikaya said at least 51 other people were injured in the disaster.

“We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel,” Mr Yerlikaya told reporters after inspecting the site.

Health minister Kemal Memisoglu said at least one of the injured was in a serious condition.

Firefighters at the scene of the blaze
Firefighters at the scene of the blaze (Mert Gokhan Koc/DIA/AP)

The fire broke out at around 3.30am in the restaurant of the 12-storey Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, officials and reports said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Two of the victims died after jumping from the building in a panic, governor Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency. Private NTV television said some people tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a day of national mourning to be observed on Wednesday. All flags at government buildings and Turkish diplomatic missions abroad would be lowered to half-mast, he said.

The hotel had 238 registered guests, Mr Yerlikaya said. The fire was reported at 3.27am and the fire department began to respond at 4.15am, he told reporters.

The government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the blaze, which is believed to have started in the hotel’s restaurant section. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said four people, including the hotel’s owner, were detained for questioning as part of the investigation.

Firefighters inside the damaged building
Firefighters inside the damaged building (Mert Gokhan Koc/dia Photo/AP)

Necmi Kepcetutan, a ski instructor at the hotel, said he was asleep when the fire erupted and he rushed out of the building. He told NTV television that he then helped some 20 guests out of the hotel.

He said the hotel was engulfed in smoke, making it difficult for guests to find the fire escape.

“I cannot reach some of my students. I hope they are OK,” the ski instructor told the station.

Television images showed the roof and top floors of the hotel on fire.

Witnesses and reports said the hotel’s fire detection system failed to operate.

The damaged interior of the hotel
At least 66 people died in the blaze (Mert Gokhan Koc/DIA/AP)

“My wife smelled the burning. The alarm did not go off,” Atakan Yelkovan, a guest staying on the third floor of the hotel, told the IHA news agency.

“We tried to go upstairs but couldn’t, there were flames. We went downstairs and came here (outside),” he said.

Mr Yelkovan said it took about an hour for firefighters to arrive.

“People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets … some tried to jump,” he said.

NTV television suggested that the wooden cladding on the exterior of the hotel, in a chalet-style design, may have accelerated the spread of the fire.

Part of the 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff, hampering efforts to combat the flames.

“Because the rear side is on a slope, intervention could only be made from the front and sides,” Mr Yerlikaya confirmed.

Tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told reporters that the hotel underwent inspections in 2021 and 2024 and that “no negative situation regarding fire competence” was reported by the fire department.

In an address in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Unfortunately, we received very sad news this morning from Bolu, Kartalkaya. Our brothers and sisters were killed and injured in a fire that broke out in a hotel.”

“All necessary steps will be taken to shed light on all aspects of the incident and to hold those responsible accountable,” he added.

NTV showed a smoke-blackened lobby, its glass entrance and windows smashed, its wooden reception desk charred and a chandelier crashed to the ground.

Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, some 185 miles east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during school holidays when hotels in the region are packed.

Mr Aydin’s office said 30 fire engines and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.

Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution and guests were placed in hotels around Bolu.

Meanwhile, a gas explosion at a hotel at another ski resort in central Turkey injured four people.

The explosion took place at the Yildiz Mountain Winter Sports Centre in Sivas province. Two skiers and their instructor were slightly injured while another instructor received second-degree burns on the hands and face, the Sivas governor’s office said.

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