The fire in Turkey’s Kartalkaya area started on the restaurant floor of the Grand Kartal Hotel, authorities said.
January 21, 2025
By Beril Eski
ISTANBUL — A fire that tore through an upscale hotel at a popular ski resort in northern Turkey early Tuesday killed at least 76 people and injured dozens of others, with some of the victims dying after jumping from windows to escape the blaze, Turkish authorities said.
The fire, at the Kartalkaya resort in Bolu province, began at 3:27 a.m. at the Grand Kartal Hotel on the floor where the restaurant was located, officials said. The 12-story hotel was hosting 234 guests at the time the blaze erupted, provincial governor Abdulaziz Aydin told local media outlets.
At least two people died after jumping from windows, he added.
Authorities did not immediately disclose the cause of the fire, and said it was being investigated. Turkey’s justice minister, Yilmaz Tunc, said in a message posted on X that four people, including the owner of the hotel, had been arrested, without detailing the charges or their culpability, if any, for the fire.
Videos showed flames breaching the upper floors of the hotel, built in the style of an A-frame chalet, and bursting from windows on the side that appeared to overlook a cliff. Knotted white sheets could be seen hanging from the hotel’s windows, after apparent attempts by guests to escape.