A fire early Tuesday morning at a 12-story hotel in a Turkish ski resort claimed the lives of at least 10 people and left 32 injured, according to the country’s interior minister.
The blaze broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort, located in the central province of Bolu, at 3:27 a.m. local time, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The fire, believed to have started in the hotel’s restaurant around midnight, spread rapidly through the building, which featured wooden cladding. Television footage showed thick plumes of smoke rising against the backdrop of a snowcapped mountain.
The hotel was near full capacity, with 234 guests staying there during the nationwide school holidays, a popular time for skiers from Istanbul and Ankara to visit the Bolu mountains. Local media reported that some guests jumped from windows to escape the flames.
Evacuated guests were relocated to nearby hotels, officials said.
Firefighters arrived quickly to battle the blaze, but the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced that six prosecutors had been assigned to examine the incident.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca confirmed that 32 people were injured, with some receiving treatment for burns and smoke inhalation. Interior Minister Yerlikaya and Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy are expected to visit the site later today.
The Grand Kartal Hotel, perched atop a mountain in one of Turkey’s premier ski destinations, was bustling with visitors enjoying the first day of the two-week school break. The resort’s high occupancy rate, between 80 and 90 percent, underscored its popularity during the holiday season.
Authorities are continuing their investigation into the fire as officials work to provide support to survivors and ensure the safety of other ski resorts in the area.
