Nine people have been detained as part of an investigation into a deadly fire that broke out at a ski resort in northwest Turkey, killing at least 76 people.
The fire ravaged a 12-storey hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, with officials reporting that two of the victims died after jumping from the building to escape the flames. More than 50 others were injured in the blaze, which occurred during a busy winter season when schools across Turkey were on a two-week break.
Turkey’s Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, expressed grief over the tragedy, stating, “Our hearts are broken. We are in mourning,” and reassured the public that those responsible would face justice. Among those detained for questioning was the hotel owner, as part of the investigation. Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc confirmed that six prosecutors had been appointed to lead the probe, which is focusing on the fire’s origin in the hotel’s restaurant section before spreading rapidly throughout the building. The hotel had 248 guests at the time, and the fire was reported at 3:27 am local time.
Efforts to identify the victims are ongoing, with 45 of the deceased already identified. The bodies of the identified victims were returned to their families, while at least one of the injured remains in critical condition. Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu confirmed that 17 others were treated and released for minor injuries.
Details from witnesses paint a harrowing picture of the ordeal. Atakan Yelkovan, a guest on the third floor, described chaos as people scrambled to escape, while ski instructor Necmi Kepcetutan recounted helping others out of the building through thick smoke. Some witnesses have suggested that the hotel’s fire detection system failed, and reports indicate that the building’s wooden cladding may have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
Turkish Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy revealed that the hotel had passed fire safety inspections in 2021 and 2024, with no issues flagged in either report. However, Yelkovan noted that it took nearly an hour for firefighting teams to arrive, a delay attributed to the hotel’s location on the side of a cliff, which hindered access.
In response to the tragedy, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday a day of national mourning, with all flags at government buildings lowered to half-mast in honor of the victims. Erdogan vowed that those responsible for the incident would be held accountable, stressing that the investigation would determine the cause of the fire.
As a precaution, other hotels in the resort were evacuated, and guests were relocated to nearby accommodations in Bolu.
