The blaze began on the restaurant floor of the hotel at Bolu's Kartalkaya ski resort early Tuesday local time, Bolu governor Abdulaziz Aydin told state broadcaster TRT.
He said there were 234 guests at the Grand Kartal Hotel, which has a broad wooden exterior.
The fire comes at the beginning of a nationwide two-week school holiday, a time when skiers from nearby Istanbul and Ankara usually head to the Bolu mountains.
TV footage showed several fire engines surrounding the charred hotel at the base of the ski slopes, with white bed sheets tied together and dangling from one upper-floor window.
The blaze began on the restaurant floor of the hotel at Bolu's Kartalkaya ski resort. (EPA PHOTO)
The death toll had risen to 10, with 32 injured, from an earlier lower count, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X, adding more than 250 first responders attended to the incident.
Bugün saat 03:27'de Kartalkaya Kayak Merkezinde bulunan bir otelde yangın çıktığı ihbarı alınmış, yangına çeşitli kamu kurum ve kuruluşlarından 267 personelle müdahale edilmiş ve müdahaleye devam edilmektedir. — Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) İlk belirlemelere göre maalesef 6 vatandaşımız hayatını kaybetmiş,…January 21, 2025
An eyewitness told the newspaper Hürriyet that he had seen people jumping out of the window.
Footage on social media showed people calling for help.
"We can't get down, help us," a woman was heard shouting from a hotel window. Flames could be seen blazing behind them. "Where is the fire department?" people standing on the ground yelled.
Local broadcaster CNN Türk said strong winds made extinguishing the fire difficult. Emergency services continued to fight the flames in the morning.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences to the victims on X.
Bolu Kartalkaya'da bulunan bir otelde meydana gelen yangında hayatını kaybeden vatandaşlarımıza Allah'tan rahmet niyaz ediyor, yaralılarımıza acil şifalar diliyorum. — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) Bizim de ilk andan beri ilgili kurumlarımız vasıtasıyla yakından takip ettiğimiz ve soruşturmaların derhâl…January 21, 2025
The mayor of the town, Tanju Ozcan, said the hotel was one of the oldest in the area and was made primarily of wood. This could have led to the fire spreading quickly.
Investigators were looking into what caused the blaze, authorities said.
with AP and DPA
