In brief
A devastating fire broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya, Turkey, killing at least 10 people and injuring 32 others during the busy winter break for families. The blaze erupted at around 3:30 a.m. while many guests were asleep, and footage shows smoke billowing across the snow-covered landscape. Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes of rescue attempts, as some guests used bedsheets to escape from the flames.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, as firefighters and rescuers rushed to evacuate trapped individuals. At least 10 people were killed and 32 others were injured on Tuesday after a fire at a hotel at a skiing resort in western Turkey, the authorities said.The fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Province took place over the winter break for schools across the country, a time when families flock to skiing resorts and other vacation spots.The fire started at around 3:30 a.m. local time, when most occupants were asleep, according to news reports. In an effort to evacuate, some occupants strung bedsheets together to make a rope that they used to descend to a lower floor, video footage showed.The cause of the fire was unclear. Television footage showed smoke billowing from a building framed by snow-topped mountains. Dozens of rescuers and fire trucks were dispatched from surrounding towns.“When I left my room I saw the flames at the fourth floor, the floor of the restaurant,” Necmi Kepcetutan, a skiing teacher who also worked at the hotel, told the NTV network. “Then it started to swarm the hotel. We helped around a dozen or more people to evacuate as we know the hotel very well.” He added that he could not reach some students because the smoke was too intense. “People were screaming to be rescued,” he told the broadcaster. Şafak Timur covers Turkey and is based in Istanbul. More about Safak Timur.
