The full horror at a Turkish ski resort has been revealed as the inferno has claimed the lives of 66 people and left victims jumping out of windows in a bid to save themselves.
The blaze broke out overnight at the restaurant on the fourth floor of the 11-storey hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, northern Turkey, at around 3.30am, according to interior minister Ali Yerlikaya and Bolu governor Abdulaziz Aydin.
Harrowing footage showed the top floors and roof of the hotel engulfed in flames, as some guests attempted to climb down from their rooms using sheets to escape the blaze.
Survivors and eyewitnesses spoke of scenes of desperation as people tried to flee the flames with some leaping out of the windows or using bedsheets as a makeshift rope.
People on the upper floors were screaming. They threw bedsheets out of the windows, some tried to jump, Atakan Yelkovan, who escaped from the third floor with his wife, told IHA news agency.
A very shaken hotel employee, who did not give his name, said he saw guests at their windows screaming for help.
I saw a father with his baby in his arms asking for pillows so he could throw down his son. Luckily he waited for the emergency services who saved them, he told IHA.
But on the top floor, two women threw themselves out of the window and died, he said, explaining that students were staying on the top floor.
So far, 66 people have been killed and 51 were injured as a result
The death toll rose to 66 in a fire that broke out in a hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center on January 21, 2025 in Bolu
The resort is located on top of a mountain range about 170 kilometres (100 miles) northwest of the capital Ankara
Baris Salgur, who works at a nearby hotel, said those trapped inside were screaming for help.
They wanted blankets so they could jump so we brought pillows and a sofa. Some people jumped as the flames approached, he told private NTV television.
At least three people who tried to climb out of the windows fell to their deaths, NTV said.
In an interview following the devastation, a witness said that a man fell on his head after using torn bedsheets to climb down the side of the flaming building.
One father was yelling about his one-year-old child: "I will thrown my child or he will burn", the witness added.
One survivor, Eylem Senturk, said she and her daughter managed to get out despite the thick black smoke on their landing but her husband was trapped.
Although he was right behind us, he couldnt get downstairs due to the smoke so he jumped from the window to the porch below, she told Anadolu news agency, saying hed then jumped to safety on a car roof.
Since the fire broke out, the death toll has tragically climbed to 66, the interior minister said.
An aerial view of the area as fire brigades responding to a fire that broke out in a hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center, on January 21, in Turkey
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that 51 people were injured, fire cooling work continues
A view of the damage from a fire that broke out at a hotel in the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Bolu, Turkiye on January 21, 2025
Our pain is great, Yerlikaya told reporters at the Kartalkaya resort, around 100 miles northwest of the capital Ankara. 66 citizens lost their lives and 51 others wounded.
Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained four suspects including the owner of the hotel. As part of an investigation led by six prosecutors, four people including the hotel owner were detained, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on X.
Health minister Kemal Memisoglu said at least one of the injured was in a serious condition.
Among the dead was a journalist who worked for the Sozcu daily, who perished with his wife and two adult children, the newspaper said in a statement.
Footage showed huge plumes of smoke rising into the sky with a snow-capped mountain behind the hotel.
The resort is located on top of a mountain range about 170 kilometres (100 miles) northwest of the capital Ankara.
The fire is thought to have started in the restaurant and quickly spread through the hotel which was covered with wooden cladding. The cause was not immediately clear.
Two-hundred and sixty-seven personnel from various public institutions and organisations responded to the fire and the response is ongoing, Yerlikaya wrote on X.
30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances rushed to the site after the fire broke out this morning
The fire broke out overnight at the restaurant of a hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said
The cause of the blaze is now being investigated, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said
Private NTV broadcaster said three people died after jumping from the hotels windows
Part of the hotel backs onto a cliff, which made it harder for firefighters to tackle the blaze.
At the time of the inferno breaking out, there were 237 were staying at the hotel where its occupancy rate was between 80 and 90 percent due to the school holidays, according to local reports.
Some 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances rushed to the site, as other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution. Those evacuated were rehoused in nearby hotels.
Justice Minister Tunc said six prosecutors had been allocated to investigate the blaze.
The health, interior and culture ministers are expected to visit the site later in the day.
In an address in Ankara, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said: Unfortunately, we received very sad news this morning from Bolu, Kartalkaya. Our brothers and sisters were killed and injured in a fire that broke out in a hotel.
All necessary steps will be taken to shed light on all aspects of the incident and to hold those responsible accountable, he added.
Necmi Kepcetutan, a ski instructor at the hotel, said he was asleep when the fire erupted and he rushed out of the building.
Search and rescue teams work at the site of a fire that broke out in a hotel in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Bolu, northwestern Turkey, on January 21, 2025
A view of the damage from a fire that broke out at a hotel in the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Bolu, Turkiye on January 21, 2025
Search and rescue teams are still working on the site of the inferno in Bolu, northwestern Turkey
He told NTV television that he then helped some 20 guests out of the hotel. He said the hotel was engulfed in smoke, making it difficult for guests to find the fire escape.
I cannot reach some of my students. I hope they are OK, the ski instructor told the station.
Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy said the hotel had two fire escapes and had passed a fire inspection in 2024 but some survivors said there appeared to be no safety mechanisms in place.
No fire alarm went off.. and there was no fire escape, said Yelkovan, who escaped from the third floor, telling IHA it had taken about an hour to an hour-and-a-half for the firefighters to arrive.
After the flames were finally doused, footage from inside showed the blackened lobby filled with charred wooden furniture and shattered glass.
As Turkey counted the dead, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen praised the incredible courage of the first responders and said Europe stands united with Turkiye and its people in this tragedy in a post on X.
Also on X, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed shock over the tragedy and said Ukraine shares the grief of the Turkish people during this difficult time.
Messages of condolence were also posted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.