Fire tears through ski resort hotel in Turkey, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens more

Istanbul, Turkey – A fire engulfed a hotel in a ski resort in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, killing 10 people and injuring 32 others, the interior minister said. Witnesses said the desperate guests had tried to escape with ropes, and the video showed sheets hanging from the windows. Media reports suggested that some people had died after trying to jump to safety.

Several ministers arrived at the scene in the Kartalkaya resort, about 100 miles northwest of the capital Ankara, and officials said the fire was now contained.

The fire broke out at 3:27 am (7:27 pm Eastern Monday) in the 12-story Grand Kartal hotel, which has wood cladding, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told X.

Local media reported that at least 230 people were staying at the hotel, a peak time during a two-week school holiday.

Private broadcaster NTV said the dead included three people who had jumped from hotel windows.

The fire is believed to have started in the restaurant and spread quickly, although it was not immediately clear what caused it.

Part of the hotel is located on a cliff, which made it more difficult for firefighters to deal with the fire.

Video broadcast on Turkish television showed huge plumes of smoke rising into the sky with a snow-capped mountain behind the hotel.

“I heard screams around midnight, (hotel) residents were screaming for help,” Baris Salgur, who works at a nearby hotel, told NTV television. “They asked for a blanket, saying they would jump… we did what we could, we brought rope, pillows, we brought a sofa. Some threw themselves when the flames got closer.”

Officials said they feared the death toll could rise further.

The video showed the destroyed lobby of the hotel with shards of glass on the floor, the reception desk and the wooden furniture in charred black.

Authorities warned that the building could collapse.

A survivor who managed to escape the flames told local media that there was no alarm in the hotel when the fire started, complaining of a lack of safety measures such as fire escapes or smoke detectors.

“I pray to God for the mercy of our citizens who lost their lives in the fire,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told X.

He said that he wished a speedy recovery to the injured affected by “this tragic accident”, adding that an investigation has been launched.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said six prosecutors have been assigned to investigate the fire.

Those evacuated were removed to nearby hotels.