A fire that broke out early Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya, a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey’s Bolu province, killed 76 people and injured 51 others, officials said.
“We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 76 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters after inspecting the site.
The blaze started at 3:27 a.m. in the hotel’s restaurant on the fourth floor of the 12-story building, hosting 234 guests during a school semester break. Emergency response teams arrived at 4:15 a.m., delayed by the hotel’s cliff-side location and freezing weather conditions.
“My wife smelled the burning. The alarm did not go off,” guest Atakan Yelkovan, staying on the third floor, told a local news agency. “We tried to go upstairs but couldn’t; there were flames. We went downstairs and came here.”
Governor Abdulaziz Aydin confirmed two victims died after jumping from the building in panic. Other guests attempted to escape by climbing down from their rooms using sheets and blankets, but some of these makeshift ropes ripped, leading to fatal falls.” People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets … some tried to jump,” Yelkovan recalled.
Firefighters faced significant challenges accessing the rear of the hotel, which sits on the side of a cliff in the Koroglu mountains. The building’s location and design complicated rescue efforts, with fire engines unable to effectively reach all sides of the structure. Television footage showed firefighters working to extinguish flames that had engulfed multiple floors while thick smoke billowed from the upper stories.
NTV television reported that the wooden cladding on the hotel’s exterior, designed in a traditional chalet style, may have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. The hotel’s fire detection system failed to operate, leaving many guests unaware of the danger until they saw flames or smelled smoke.
Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu reported one injured person remains in serious condition. Seventeen injured have been discharged from hospitals, while others continue receiving treatment in medical facilities throughout Bolu.
Ski instructor Necmi Kepcetutan helped evacuate 20 guests after being awakened by the fire. He told NTV television, “I cannot reach some of my students. I hope they are OK.” He described how thick smoke made it difficult for guests to locate fire escapes.
Six prosecutors will lead the investigation into the disaster. Authorities have detained four people, including the hotel’s owner, in connection with the incident. The Justice Minister confirmed the allocation of multiple prosecutors to determine the fire’s cause.
The Kartalkaya resort, located 185 miles east of Istanbul in the Koroglu mountains, draws numerous visitors during winter. The resort was operating at high capacity due to the school semester break when the fire occurred.
