Death Toll Climbs to 76 in Fire at Turkish Ski Resort
21st January 2025 | James Cove, Istanbul, Turkey.
More than 50 have been injured after a fire broke out at a hotel in a ski resort. PlanetSKI reports from Turkey. UPDATED
The blaze at the 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort near Bolu started at around 3.30 on Tuesday morning.
More than 234 people were staying at the hotel during the busy school holiday period.
It is thought that the fire started in the restaurant area on the fourth floor and spread to the floors above.
It is in the Köroğlu mountains just off the main road between Istanbul and the Turkish capital, Ankara and around 50km from Bolu.
The tragedy is leading the news here in Istanbul and across the country, with people wanting to know how such an accident could happen.
The handful of people I have spoke to in the city are upset and angry at the huge loss of life.
Some of the dead and injured came from Istanbul including Vedia Nil Apak, a 10-year-old swimmer with Fenerbahce Sports Club in the city and her mother Ferda.
I skied in Kartalkaya this time last year and visited the Grand Kartal Hotel.
You can see the large 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel with its pitched roof in this photo.
Kartalkaya, Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI
Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Köroğlu mountains, some 300 kilometres east of Istanbul.
Kartalkaya, Turkey. Image c/o PlanetSKI
The blaze occurred during the school winter break when hotels in the resort are packed.
The governor’s office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.
It is thought the wooden facade of the hotel may have helped the flames spread.
Kartalkaya, Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI
See here for my reports from Kartalkaya and Istanbul at the time.
According to a report on BBC News, the governor of Bolu, Abdulaziz Aydin, said that distance between the hotel, in Kartalkaya, and the centre of Bolu, combined with freezing weather, meant it took more than an hour for fire engines to arrive.
The road is a narrow one – single track in places.
Road from Bolu to Kartalkaya, Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI
Road from Bolu to Kartalkaya, Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI
Some guests are reported to have jumped from windows in an attempt to escape the flames.
Others tied bed sheets together.
One told Ekol TV that he and his family did not hear any fire alarms but woke up to the fire.
They eventually managed to jump from one of the lower floors.
Rescue efforts continued through the morning with crews still trying to reach some parts of the hotel by mid-morning.
Read more on the BBC.
Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution.
Nine people have been arrested, including the owner, said the justice minister.
The hotel had two fire escapes and one hotel worker said they had managed to rescue 30-35 people.
The hotel was last inspected in 2024, and the tourism minister said there had been no concerns regarding the hotel’s fire safety.
We’ll bring you more news and reaction from Turkey shortly.
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