66 dead after fire erupts at popular ski hotel in Turkey

A occurrence astatine a edifice astatine a fashionable skis edifice successful northwestern Turkey connected Tuesday killed astatine slightest 66 people, Turkey's Interior Minister said.

Ali Yerlikaya said astatine slightest 51 different radical were injured successful the disaster.

"We are successful heavy pain. We person unluckily mislaid 66 lives successful the occurrence that broke retired astatine this hotel," Yerlikaya told reporters aft inspecting the site.

Fire engulfs a 12-story edifice arsenic firefighters enactment to extinguish the flames successful Bolu, northwestern Turkey, Tuesday. (IHA)

Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said astatine slightest 1 of the injured was successful superior condition.

The occurrence broke retired astatine astir 3:30 a.m. successful the edifice of the 12-story Grand Kartal edifice successful the edifice of Kartalkaya successful Bolu province, officials and reports said. The origin of the fire was nether investigation.

Two of the victims died aft jumping from the gathering successful a panic, Gov. Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency. Private NTV tv said immoderate radical tried to ascent down from their rooms utilizing sheets and blankets.

There were 234 guests staying astatine the hotel, Aydin said.

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Necmi Kepcetutan, a skis teacher astatine the hotel, said helium was dormant erstwhile the occurrence erupted and helium rushed retired of the building. He told NTV tv that helium past helped immoderate 20 guests retired of the hotel.

He said the edifice was engulfed successful smoke, making it hard for guests to find the occurrence escape.

"I cannot scope immoderate of my students. I anticipation they are OK," the skis teacher told the station.

Television images showed the extortion and apical floors of the edifice connected fire.

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Witnesses and reports said the hotel’s occurrence detection strategy failed to operate.

"My woman smelled the burning. The alarm did not spell off," Atakan Yelkovan, a impermanent staying connected the 3rd level of the hotel, told the IHA quality agency.

"We tried to spell upstairs but couldn’t, determination were flames. We went downstairs and came present (outside)," helium said.

Yelkovan said it took astir an hr for the firefighting teams to arrive.

"People connected the precocious floors were screaming. They hung down sheets ... immoderate tried to jump," helium said.

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The authorities appointed six prosecutors to pb an probe into the fire. NTV tv suggested that the woody cladding connected the exterior of the hotel, successful a chalet-style design, whitethorn person accelerated the dispersed of the fire.

The 161-room edifice is connected the broadside of a cliff, hampering efforts to combat the flames, the presumption besides reported.

NTV showed a smoke-blackened lobby, its solid entranceway and windows smashed, its woody reception table charred and a chandelier crashed to the ground.

Kartalkaya is simply a fashionable skis edifice successful the Koroglu mountains, immoderate 300 kilometers (185 miles) eastbound of Istanbul. The occurrence occurred during the schoolhouse semester interruption erstwhile hotels successful the portion are packed.

Aydin's bureau said 30 occurrence trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.

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Other hotels astatine the edifice were evacuated arsenic a precaution and guests were placed successful hotels astir Bolu.

Meanwhile, a state detonation astatine a edifice astatine different skis edifice successful central Turkey injured 4 people.

The detonation took spot astatine the Yildiz Mountain Winter Sports Center successful Sivas province. Two skiers and their teacher were somewhat injured portion different teacher received second-degree burns connected the hands and face, the Sivas governor’s bureau said.