ankara
The death toll in the massive fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Türkiye’s northwestern Bolu province has increased to 78. The country’s Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunak gave this information on Thursday. 11 people have been detained in connection with this incident. Tunak posted on the social media platform X that those detained included the deputy mayor, the fire chief and the hotel owner and manager. Investigation of the matter is ongoing.
This twelve-storey hotel caught fire on Tuesday morning. The fire broke out in a restaurant located on the fourth floor and gradually spread to the upper floors. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a national day of mourning on Wednesday. “Whoever is found guilty behind this incident, whose negligence is found, will be held accountable before the law,” Erdogan said at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting.
According to the news, he said that 17 injured have been discharged from the hospital and the other injured are undergoing treatment, one of whom has been kept in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The hotel had accommodation for 238 guests. Kartalakaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, about 300 kilometers east of Istanbul. Bolu is a city in northern Türkiye and the administrative center of Bolu Province and Bolu District, located on the highway between Istanbul and Ankara. Located on the peak of the Koroglu mountains, 38 kilometers from Bolu city centre, the ski and mountain hotel covers an area of 60,000 square metres. It is one of Türkiye’s major winter tourist destinations, receiving thousands of visitors during the ski season.
