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Tragic Fire at Turkish Ski Resort Hotel Claims 76 Lives
A devastating fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Turkey’s Bolu mountains has resulted in the deaths of 76 individuals and left 51 others injured. The incident occurred early Tuesday morning, prompting guests to leap from windows or improvise escape using bed sheets.
The blaze erupted around 3:30 AM in the hotel restaurant located in the picturesque Kartalkaya ski resort area of Bolu province. Firefighters battled the inferno for approximately 10 hours as emergency services surrounded the charred building, which has a history of significant occupancy.
Ali Yerlikaya, Turkey’s interior minister, expressed the country’s mourning over the tragic event, stating, “We are in deep pain.” He confirmed that out of the injured, at least one individual is in serious condition while 17 others have since been released from medical care.
In connection with the ongoing investigation into the fire’s cause, four individuals, including the hotel owner, have been detained. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunç provided this update via a post on X, signaling a thorough inquiry into the circumstances surrounding this catastrophe.
According to the governor of Bolu, Abdulaziz Aydin, a majority of the hotel’s 238 guests resorted to jumping to escape the flames, with tragic consequences for two who perished in their desperate bid to flee. Eyewitness accounts reveal a horrifying scene as the flames rapidly consumed the upper levels of the structure.
Mevlut Ozer, a bystander, described the chaos, stating, “It was like the apocalypse. The flames engulfed the hotel immediately, like in half an hour.” Another witness, Omer Sakrak, recalled the panic as guests attempted to escape, with some resorting to tying bed sheets together in a bid to climb down from higher floors.
Guests have recounted harrowing experiences of navigating smoke-filled corridors, with alarming accounts of inadequate fire safety measures. One guest reported: “My wife smelled the burning. The alarm did not go off.” This sentiment reflects a concerning lack of safety preparedness during the tragedy.
Necmi Kepcetutan, a ski instructor who managed to escape the hotel, recounted helping approximately 20 guests to safety, illustrating the collective struggle to exit the severely compromised building.
As a precaution, nearby hotels were evacuated in response to the crisis, and guests were relocated to other accommodations throughout Bolu to ensure their safety. Kartalkaya, known for its winter sports, sees a surge in visitors during school holiday periods, raising questions about emergency preparedness in high-occupancy situations.
In a statement, Turkey’s Minister of Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, assured the public that the Grand Kartal hotel had passed a fire safety inspection in the previous year, highlighting the discrepancy between regulatory compliance and the tragic outcomes of this incident.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for a comprehensive investigation, pledging that every effort will be made to uncover the root cause of the fire and ensure accountability for those responsible.
In a separate incident, a gas explosion at another hotel within the Yildiz Mountain Winter Sports Center in central Turkey resulted in four injuries, underlining ongoing safety concerns within the hospitality sector during peak tourist seasons.
Source
www.theguardian.com