Scores Killed As Hotel Engulfed By Flames In Turkish Ski Resort
By Juliet Vincent
At least 66 people have been killed in a fire that engulfed a popular Turkish ski resort hotel, leaving some to jump out of windows.
The fire broke out at the wooden-clad 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel at 03:27 local time (00:27 GMT) during a busy holiday period when 234 people were staying there.
An initial toll of 10 dead was raised significantly in the hours after the fire by Turkey’s interior ministry. At least two people died after trying to jump to safety.
It took 12 hours for the fire to be put out. Four people have been arrested, including the owner, the justice minister says.
The identities of all 66 are yet to be confirmed, but among those released so far are Vedia Nil Apak, a 10-year-old swimmer with Fenerbahce Sports Club in Istanbul, and her mother Ferda.
The club said it had learned of the news with “deep sorrow” in an Instagram on post on Tuesday.
Among the children who died were Alican Boduroğlu and his younger sister Elif Nas, who were at school in Istanbul, and their mother Ebru.
Eslem Uyanik, a young chef at the hotel, died along with Ceren Yaman Dogan, the daughter of a well-known local businessman and her 17-year-old daughter Lalin.
Nedim Turkmen, a writer for Sozcu newspaper, his wife Ayse Neva and their two children aged 18 and 22 were also named, along with Prof Atakan Yalcin, who was dean of Ozyegin University Business School.
Dilara Ermanoglu, 24, was among the victims, and her father who had gone to Bolu to look for her was treated by health workers for a heart attack.
Health minister Kemal Memisoglu said that of the 51 injured people, one was receiving treatment in intensive care, and 17 people had been discharged.
“Our pain is great,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
Footage circulating in Turkey showed linen hanging from windows which was used by those trying to escape the burning building.
Ski instructor Necmi Kepcetutan told the BBC he was on the second floor of the hotel when the fire broke out and managed to get out via the ski room. He then helped with relief efforts.
Eyewitnesses said the family that owned the hotel had been there at the time of the fire and Mr Kepcetutan said he saw some of the family outside.
The cause of the fire has not yet been found, but Bolu governor Abdulaziz Aydin said initial reports suggested it had broken out in the restaurant section of the hotel’s fourth floor and spread to the floors above.
Aydin said the distance between the hotel, in Kartalkaya, and the centre of Bolu, paired with the freezing weather conditions, meant it took more than an hour for fire engines to arrive. Emergency services sent 267 workers to the site. (BBC)
