76 die in Turkey ski resort fire, guests tried escaping via windows

A fire broke out at a popular Turkish ski resort on Jan. 21, claiming the lives of at least 76 and injuring another 51 guests.

The fire, which occurred at the 11-storey tall Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu, Turkey, had started at around 3:27am local time, reported BBC.

The hotel was fully booked, with over 234 people reported to be staying at the hotel at the time of the fire.

"Our pain is impossible to describe," said Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya to reporters at the site, reported Reuters.

Yerlikaya added that 52 of the victims had been identified with the help of forensic experts, and most of the victims' bodies have since been returned to their families, reported local media Sozcu.

Health minister Kemal Memisoglu shared that 17 of the 51 injured have since been discharged, and 34 others were still receiving treatment in hospital, with one in the intensive care unit.

While the cause of the fire has not been identified, Bolu governor Abdulaziz Aydin said that initial reports suggested it started in the restaurant section of the hotel's fourth floor and subsequently spread upwards.

Jumped out of windows in desperation

Eyewitnesses and survivors described that people staying on the upper floors had attempted to flee in various ways.

Omer Sakrak, an employee of a neighbouring hotel who witnessed the fire, shared with Reuters that people on the upper floors had started to jump out of the building in panic.

"They tried to climb down using bedsheets. The bedsheets ripped as one friend tried... and he unfortunately fell on his head," Sakrak told Reuters.

"One father was yelling about his one-year-old child: I will throw my child or he will burn," he added.

Location posed challenges for firefighters

The hotel's location — nestled in the Köroğlu Mountains some 38 kilometres from Bolu — posed "significant challenges" for firefighters to control the fire, said the Bolu Governor's office.

According to BBC, the freezing conditions took local firefighters more than an hour to reach the hotel.

It took over 10 hours to extinguish the fire, said Daily Sabah.

Questions surrounding the hotel's fire safety measures have also surfaced.

According to Turkey's tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the hotel was last inspected in 2024, and there had been no concerns regarding the hotel's fire safety prior to the disaster, said Sozcu.

Ersoy added that the hotel possessed a valid fire qualification certificate and shared that there were two fire escapes in the hotel, Sozcu reported.

However, the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) has also voiced out that an automatic fire extinguisher system, such as an automatic sprinkler system, had not been installed.

"In the photos on the hotel's website, it is seen that the automatic sprinkler system, which was supposed to be installed in 2008, was not installed," said the union.

Nine people, including the hotel's owner, have been arrested as part of investigations into the cause of the fire, said Yerlikaya.

Top image from @theinformant_x/X