A fire at a hotel in a ski resort in north-western Turkey on January 21 claimed the lives of at least 60 people and left 50 others hospitalized, reports said. The fire started aro𝕴und﷽ 3:30 a.m. in the restaurant of the 12-story Grand Kartal hotel, located in the Kartalkaya resort in Bolu province. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, reports said.
Television images showed the roof and top floors of the hotel on fire. The government has appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the fire. NTV television suggested that the wooden cladding on the exterior of the hotel, in a chalet-style d♒esign, may have accelerated the sprea💮d of the fire.
Two people died after jumping from the building in🍌 a panic, the Bolu governor, Abdulaziz Aydin, told the state-run Anadolu Agency. NTV television said some people had tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets. There were 234 guests staying at the hotel, Aydin said. The 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff, hampering efforts to combat the flames, the station also reporte🧸d.
NTV showed a smoke-blackened lobby with its glass entrance and windows smashed, its wooden reception desk charred and a chand🐲elier crashed to the ground. Aydin’s office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances had been sent to the site. Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution and guests were placed in hotels around Bolu.
Rescue efforts continued through the morning, and the interior minister said emergency services had deployed 267 people to respond to the fire. By mid-mornin💮g the local mayor said they were still trying to reach parts of the hotel.
