A tragic fire engulfed a ski resort hotel in Turkey’s Bolu Mountains early Tuesday, claiming 66 lives and leaving 51 others injured. Desperate guests resorted to jumping from windows in a bid to escape the spreading flames.
The fire erupted at approximately 3:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) on the restaurant floor of the 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed. The blaze quickly swept through the building, creating chaos among the 238 guests staying at the popular ski destination.
Witnesses described harrowing scenes, including makeshift ropes made of tied bed sheets hanging from upper-floor windows. Some guests, trapped on the top floor, called out to those below to prepare cushions or soft landings before leaping to safety.
One guest recounted to Ekol TV how his family woke to smoke-filled hallways, forcing them to jump from a lower-floor window onto the snow below to survive.
Emergency responders arrived roughly 45 minutes after the initial distress call, but their work was complicated by the hotel’s location on a steep slope, which limited access to certain parts of the building.
Although the fire has been extinguished, cooling operations continued into the afternoon.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze, which occurred during school holidays—a time when families from Istanbul and Ankara flock to the area for skiing.
Interior Minister Yerlikaya expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy, calling it an indescribable loss that has deeply affected the nation.