A fire at a hotel in a Turkish ski resort has claimed the lives of at least 10 people, with over 30 others injured. According to Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the blaze broke out in the hotel restaurant in Kartalkaya, located in northwestern Turkey.
The governor of Bolu province, where the ski resort is situated, informed the state news agency Anadolu that two of the victims died after jumping from the building in panic.
Governor Abdulaziz Aydin stated that there were 234 guests staying at the hotel at the time of the tragedy.
Private broadcaster NTV reported that some individuals attempted to escape from their rooms using bed sheets. Television footage shows that the roof and upper floors of the hotel were engulfed in flames.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown. NTV speculated that the wooden cladding of the hotel may have accelerated the spread of the flames.
Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, approximately 300 kilometers east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during school holidays when hotels in the region are typically full.
The governor's office reported that 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were dispatched to the scene of the fire.
Other hotels in the resort were evacuated as a precautionary measure.