Dozens of people died in the fire which broke out at the Grand Kartal hotel in the Koroglu mountains in Bolu, north Turkey, while four have been arrested – dramatic footage shows the sheer size of the fire
Turkey: Ski hotel smoulders following fire in Bolu
This was the devastating moment a fire tore through a hotel at a Turkey ski resort killing at least 76 people, as four people have been arrested over the inferno.
The blaze ripped through the 12-storey Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, Bolu, 185 miles east of Istanbul. A total of 234 guests were staying at the hotel when the fire broke out in its restaurant early on Tuesday morning at the beginning of a two-week school winter break.
At least two of the 76 people known to have died had jumped from the building to escape the fire, suffering fatal injuries. Footage shows the fire smoulder at the hotel as rescue services line up outside to tackle the flames.
From some windows, charred bed sheets hang from upper floors where desperate guests were forced to escape. Reports in Turkish media said guests were shimmying down from the windows after tying sheets and blankets together.
Shocking photos revealing the extent of the blaze show smoke continuing to billow from the hotel hours after it broke out, with glimpses inside showing furniture still smouldering. Images from inside meanwhile reveal its charred interior, with a blackened chandelier the only remaining intact feature.
Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed there were at least 51 other people injured. Authorities have since arrested four people – including the business owner, the country’s justice secretary said.
At least one of the 51 injured was seriously ill in hospital, while 17 have been discharged. The hotel had 161 rooms with most accommodation in the Koroglu mountains resort having been fully booked out due to it being peak ski season.
The fire is understood to have broken out at around 3.30am in the hotel’s restaurant. One guest, Atakan Yelkovan, told IHA news agency how he and his wife were able to escape in the nick of time, claiming their smoke alarm “did not go off”. “We tried to go upstairs but couldn’t, there were flames. We went downstairs and came here [outside],” he said.
After getting to safety, the couple said they watched in horror as guests on the upper floors screamed for help, or tried to escape using bedsheets. Some 30 fire engines were deployed to the site.
An investigation by government prosecutors is now underway to determine how the fire started. The country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to take “all necessary steps” to “hold those responsible accountable”.