At least 66 people were killed and 51 injured in a devastating fire that engulfed a 12-storey hotel in the Turkish ski resort of Kartalkaya early on Tuesday morning. The Grand Kartal Hotel, located in the Koroglu mountains, was occupied by numerous guests during the school half-term.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed the tragic toll, stating that the fire, believed to have originated in the hotel restaurant, broke out at around 3:27 a.m. Firefighters arrived at the scene at 4:15 a.m.
Witnesses reported that the hotel’s fire alarm system failed to activate, and some guests were forced to jump from windows to escape the flames. The wooden exterior of the chalet-style building likely contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
The hotel had 238 registered guests, and the death toll is expected to rise. Six prosecutors have been appointed to investigate the incident.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences and vowed to hold those responsible to account.
Separately, a gas explosion at another ski resort in central Turkey injured four people.
