A fire at a ski resort hotel in Turkey’s Köroğlu mountains, in Bolu province of northwestern Turkey, killed at least 66 people on Tuesday and forced panicked guests to jump out of windows in the middle of the night, according to an announcement by Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
More than 50 people were injured.
The blaze began around 3:30 a.m. (2:30 Cyprus time) on the restaurant floor of the 11-storey Grand Kartal Hotel at the Kartalkaya ski resort in northwest Turkey, authorities said.
“At 03:27 today, a fire broke out at a hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort,” Yerlikaya stated on X, adding, “Unfortunately, the number of dead has reached ten, and the number of injured stands at 32.”
The fire started on the fourth floor of the wooden-fronted, 11-storey hotel, and firefighters are continuing their efforts to extinguish it, Bolu Governor Abdülaziz Aydın told the state broadcaster TRT.
Aydın mentioned that the cause of the fire is still unknown, and authorities are conducting investigations. He added that the fire broke out on the restaurant floor while the hotel was hosting 234 guests.
Broadcasters showed several fire engines surrounding the charred building, with white bed sheets tied together and dangling from one upper-floor window.
One guest told NTV he saw people panicking and jumping from windows to escape. Another told Ekol TV that he and his family woke up to the fire, entered smoke-filled corridors and eventually jumped from a lower-floor window.
🚨#BREAKING: A fire broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu, Turkey, killing 3 people and injuring 21 others.
— R A W S G L 🌎 B A L (@RawsGlobal) January 21, 2025
The governor said there were 234 guests at the hotel, according to local media. The condition of the others weren't immediately clear. pic.twitter.com/hV7g2HrTYJ
Authorities continue their investigations concerning the cause of the fire. It coincided with school holidays when many families from nearby Istanbul and Ankara head to the Bolu mountains to ski.
At least 234 guests at Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya in Bolu, Turkey where fire broke out, governor says. At least 3 dead, 21 injured. – local media pic.twitter.com/fbv57Q9UHr
— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) January 21, 2025
Source: Reuters/ ANA-MPA
