At Least 66 Dead, 51 Injured in Fire at Popular Ski Resort
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At least 66 people have died and more than 50 were injured following a horrific fire at a popular ski resort, the Associated Press reported.
The blaze erupted on Tuesday morning around 3:30 a.m. local time at Turkey’s Kartalkaya ski resort, a 12-story hotel situated in the Köroğlu Mountains within the province of Bolu. Turkish outlet Daily Sabah reported that at least 66 people died in the fire and another 51 were injured. However, those numbers are expected to increase as crews continue to clear the smoldering site. Kemal Memişoğlu, the country’s health minister, confirmed that 17 of the injured victims have already been treated and released from the local hospital. Thirty four are still being assessed.
According to the BBC, Bolu’s governor Abdulaziz Aydin claimed that early reports suggest the fire began in the hotel’s fourth-floor restaurant before quickly spreading to the floors above. Local emergency services dispatched 267 rescue workers to the scene, but it took crews more than an hour to arrive due to the hotel’s distance from downtown Bolu and the wintery weather conditions. Aydin told the AP that at least two victims had “died after jumping from the building in a panic.” Witnesses at the scene reported seeing white bed sheets dangling from several windows as guests tried to escape.
“I saw people shouting for help from the windows,” an employee of a nearby hotel told Daily Sabah. “We brought ropes, pillows and quilts. Before firefighters arrived, two women jumped from the upper floors.”
Turkish officials nationwide extended their heartfelt sympathies to the victims and their families. “I wish God’s mercy upon our citizens who lost their lives in the fire that broke out in Bolu Kartalkaya and offer my condolences to their families and loved ones,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan wrote on X. “I hope that our injured citizens will regain their health as soon as possible.”
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“May God have mercy on the citizens who lost their lives and we send our condolences to their relatives. We wish a speedy recovery to our injured,” the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Health wrote on Instagram.
The Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation to determine the source of the blaze. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Daily Sabah that “every necessary step is being taken and will continue to be taken to clarify the incident and hold those responsible accountable fully.”
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