At least 10 people were killed and 32 injured in a fire that broke out at a ski resort hotel in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday morning.
The fire broke out in the restaurant of the 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel in the mountain-top resort of Kartalkaya at 3:27 a.m. local time (0027 GMT), according to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
At least two victims reportedly died after jumping from the building in panic, while local media also reported that guests were trying to climb down from their rooms using bedsheets and blankets.
Television footage showed the roof and upper floors of the hotel on fire, with plumes of smoke billowing into the sky and snow-covered mountains visible in the background.
The hotel was reported to be between 80-90% full due to the school holidays, with over 230 guests checking in.
Necmi Kepsetutan, a ski instructor at the hotel, told private broadcaster NTV that she had helped about 20 people evacuate the building, but it was difficult to find fire escapes because of the smoke.
“I can’t reach some of my students,” he said. “I hope they’re okay.”
NTV journalists suggested that the design of the 161-room hotel, with wooden chalet-style cladding, may have hastened the spread of the fire.
Officials said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were dispatched to the scene, but the hotel’s location on a cliff was hampering firefighters’ efforts to tackle the blaze.
Other nearby hotels were evacuated as a precaution and guests were relocated to other accommodations in the area.
Kartalakaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, about 300 kilometers (185 mi) east of Istanbul and 170 kilometers (100 mi) northwest of the capital Ankara.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunç has appointed six prosecutors to lead the investigation into the fire, the exact cause of which is unclear.
The ministers of health, interior and culture were expected to arrive later on Tuesday.
MF/NM (AFP, AP, dpa)
