Tragedy at Kartalkaya: Ski resort fire claims 10 lives
A devastating fire occurred at the Kartalkaya ski resort in northwestern Turkey. As a result, 10 people lost their lives, and 32 suffered serious injuries.
The fire broke out early in the morning on Tuesday, 21 January, at the restaurant of the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center hotel in the Köroğlu mountains, about 300 kilometres east of Istanbul.
Tragedy at the hotel
Turkey's Minister of Internal Affairs, Ali Yerlikaya, reported that as many as 10 people lost their lives in the fire. According to the AP agency, two of the victims did not survive after jumping from the burning building. Thirty-two people are seriously injured.
Local media report that people were fleeing the hotel in a panic through the windows. Witnesses saw some guests trying to escape the eight-storey hotel engulfed in flames, climbing down with ropes made from tied bedsheets.
The cause of the fire is unknown
Thirty fire engines were dispatched to tackle the blaze, and 28 ambulances arrived at the scene. Nearby hotels were also evacuated.
Footage shown on Turkish television displayed burning upper floors and the roof of the building. Photos revealed that virtually nothing inside survived. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Currently, Turkish schools are on holiday, and the hotels are overcrowded, so there were as many as 234 guests in the building at the time of the fire.
