At least 66 people have died and 51 were injured in a fire that broke out in a hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort, in the Bolu district, northwestern Turkey. This was announced today by the Minister of Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, quoted by Turkish media, BTA reported.
The fire broke out at around 3:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Bulgarian time) in the restaurant area of the 12-story wooden hotel in Kartalkaya. Due to the construction materials from which it was built, the flames quickly spread throughout the building. The evacuated holidaymakers from the burning building were accommodated in four other hotels in the area.
The hotel, located in the Bolu district, bordering Ankara, was about 80-90 percent occupied during the winter school holidays, with 237 people staying there, CNN-Turk reported. Multiple emergency teams were dispatched to the area, including fire engines from the Bolu and Gerede municipalities, police, gendarmerie, teams from the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) and medical personnel. A total of 267 people are involved in the efforts to put out the flames, Anadolu Agency reported.