ISTANBUL: A fire at a ski resort hotel in Turkiye’s Bolu mountains killed 66 people on Tuesday and forced panicked guests to jump out of windows in the middle of the night.
Some 51 people were injured, Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said at the Kartalkaya ski resort in northwest Turkiye.
The blaze at the 12-storey Grand Kartal hotel, which has wooden cladding, started at 3:27am (5:27am PKT), Ali Yerlikaya said on X.
Private NTV broadcaster said three people died after jumping from the hotel’s windows.
The resort is located on top of a mountain range about 170 kilometres northwest of the capital Ankara.
The fire, which is believed to have started in the restaurant at around midnight, spread quickly. It was not immediately clear what caused it.
Television footage showed huge plumes of smoke rising into the sky with a snowcapped mountain behind the hotel.
Part of it backs onto a cliff, making it harder for firefighters to tackle the blaze.
Local media said 237 people were staying at the hotel, where the occupancy rate was between 80 and 90 percent due to the school holidays.
Those evacuated were rehoused in nearby hotels.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said six prosecutors had been allocated to investigate the blaze.
The health, interior and culture ministers are expected to visit the site later in the day.
