Istanbul, Turkey, Jan 22: A fire engulfed a hotel at a ski resort in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, killing at least 76 people and injuring at least 51 more, the interior minister said. Witnesses said desperate guests had tried to escape using ropes, and video showed bedsheets hanging from the windows. Officials suggested at least two people died after trying to jump from the building to safety, and the private broadcaster NTV reported three died this way.
At least one of the individuals suffered serious injuries, said Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu, while 17 others received treatment for less severe injuries. Survivors who evacuated the building were rehoused in nearby hotels.
"Our pain is great," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters at the Kartalkaya resort, about 100 miles northwest of the capital Ankara. "Sixty-six citizens lost their lives and 51 others wounded."
Other cabinet members also came to the scene of the disaster and said the blaze had been contained. The fire broke out at 3:27 am (7:27 p.m. Monday Eastern ) in the 12-story Grand Kartal hotel, which has wooden cladding, Yerlikaya said earlier on X.
Yerlikaya said 238 people were registered guests at the hotel when the fire broke out amid a tourism peak for the resort due to a two-week school holiday.
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Turkish authorities detained four people, including the owner of the hotel, "as part of an investigation led by six prosecutors," Turkey's Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said in a post on social media. The hotel's owner was among those detained for questioning, according to the justice minister. A panel of five people with expertise relevant to the case will also assist in the probe, he said.
The fire is believed to have started in the restaurant and spread quickly, though it was not immediately clear what caused it. Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told reporters the hotel had undergone inspections in 2021 and 2024, saying "no negative situation regarding fire competence" was recorded by the fire department, The Associated Press reported.
Some witnesses and reports suggested the hotel's fire detection system failed to operate. Atakan Yelkovan, a guest staying on the third floor, told AP it took firefighters about an hour to arrive at the scene. Part of the hotel backs onto a cliff, which made it harder for firefighters to tackle the blaze.
Video aired on Turkish television showed huge plumes of smoke rising into the sky with a snowcapped mountain behind the hotel.
"I heard screams around midnight, (hotel) residents were shouting for help," Baris Salgur, who works at a nearby hotel, told NTV television. "They asked for a blanket, saying they will jump... we did what we could, we brought rope, pillows, we brought a sofa. Some people threw themselves once the flames approached them."
Officials said they feared the number of dead could still rise.
Video showed the wrecked lobby of the hotel with shards of glass on the floor, the reception desk and the wooden furniture inside charred black.
Authorities warned the building could collapse.
A survivor who managed to escape the flames told local media that no alarms rang at the hotel when the fire started, complaining of a lack of any safety measures such as fire stairs or smoke detectors.
"I pray to God for mercy upon our citizens who lost their lives in the fire," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on X.
He said he wished a speedy recovery to the injured affected by "this tragic accident," adding that an investigation had been launched. Erdogan also declared Wednesday a day of national mourning in response to the fire, ordering all flags at government buildings and Turkish diplomatic missions abroad to be lowered to half-staff.
