Dozens killed in Turkish ski resort fire

Dozens of people were killed after a fire ripped through a ski resort hotel in northwestern Türkiye on Tuesday, forcing desperate holidaymakers to leap from windows to escape from the flames and smoke.

At least 76 people were killed and 51 injured following the early morning blaze at a hotel in the Kartalkaya resort in Bolu province, according to the country’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Many children are believed to be among the victims. Authorities have identified 52 of the deceased, Yerlikaya said.

As the identities of some of the victims emerged, local schools and businesses started to post death notices for students and educational staff. Some were reported to be fifth graders, aged 10 to 11 years old.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared Wednesday a day of mourning. “Today is not a day for politics; it is a day for solidarity, for being one and together,” he said on X, adding that anyone found responsible would be held to account.

Officials said some desperate holiday goers had tried to jump out of windows in order to escape, as flames licked the top floors of the facility. Footage of the aftermath showed wreaths of gray smoke swirling around the charred building.

The 12-story hotel was built onto a cliff, complicating efforts to extinguish the flames. Emergency crews arrived at the scene at 4:15 a.m. local time — almost an hour after the fire broke out — at 3:27 a.m., said Yerlikaya. The government launched an investigation into the fire, and at least nine people have been detained, according to Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc and the interior minister.

The resort is a popular destination for holiday-makers in winter, especially during school holidays, which run from January until the first week of February. The timing of the blaze fell in the school holidays, when people from Istanbul and Ankara travel to the Bolu mountains to ski.

There were around 234 guests staying at the hotel, Governor Abdulaziz Aydin told the Anadolu Agency. Two of the victims died after jumping out of the building in a panic, Aydin said.

At least 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site, Aydin’s office said. According to Yerlikaya, authorities mobilized 267 emergency personnel to respond to the blaze. Authorities evacuated other hotels at the resort as a precautionary measure, and guests were housed in hotels around Bolu.