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At least 76 dead in hotel fire at Turkish ski resort

At least 76 people have been killed and a further 51 have been injured after a fire broke out at a hotel at a popular ski resort in Turkey. Turkey’s interior minister told reporters "we are in deep pain" after visiting the site of the fire at the 12-story Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu province.
At least 76 dead in hotel fire at Turkish ski resort

Ali Yerlikaya confirmed 76 people had died and Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said at least one of the injured was in a serious condition, while 17 others were treated and released.

The fire broke out at around 3.30am in the hotel restaurant and was first reported at 3:27am. Emergency services started to respond at 4.15am, Yerlikaya told reporters.

Six prosecutors have been appointed to lead an investigation into the deadly blaze.

Four people, including the hotel owner, were detained for questioning, according to Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc.

There were 238 people registered as staying at the hotel, he added.

Two of the victims died after jumping from the building in a panic, Governor Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Private NTV television said some people tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets.

Necmi Kepcetutan, a ski instructor at the hotel, said he was asleep when the fire erupted and he rushed out of the building. He told NTV, the national news channel, that he then helped some 20 guests out of the hotel.

He said the building was engulfed in smoke, making it difficult for guests to locate the fire escape.

“I cannot reach some of my students. I hope they are OK,” the ski instructor told the station.

Witnesses and reports said the hotel’s fire detection system failed to operate.

“My wife smelled the burning. The alarm did not go off,” Atakan Yelkovan, a guest staying on the third floor of the hotel, told the IHA news agency.

“We tried to go upstairs but couldn’t, there were flames. We went downstairs and came here (outside),” he said.

“People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets ... some tried to jump,” he said.

NTV also reported that the 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff, hampering efforts to combat the flames.

Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometres (185 miles) east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during the school semester break when hotels in the region were packed.

Aydin's office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.

Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution and guests were placed in hotels around Bolu.

The area is particularly busy at the moment as it is the start of a two-week winter break for schools.

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