Breaking News: Hotel fire at Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Resort brought under control after 10 hours! Does the hotel have a fire escape? Minister Ersoy explains...

A fire broke out at a hotel in the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center.

The fire at the center, located on the summit of the Köroğlu Mountains, engulfed the hotel in a short time.

Upon notification, numerous teams dispatched from Bolu, Düzce, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Karabük, Zonguldak, Bartın, and Ankara intervened in the flames. Teams and vehicles from the fire department, health services, AFAD, UMKE, gendarmerie command, and regional forestry directorates participated in the extinguishing efforts.

Cooling efforts are ongoing in the area where the fire was brought under control after approximately 10 hours of intervention by the teams.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, in his statement at 08:44 AM, reported that 10 people had lost their lives and 32 were injured in the fire tragedy. It was learned that there were 234 people in the hotel.

DEATH TOLL 66

Yerlikaya announced in his statement at 15:15 that the death toll had risen to 66 and the number of injured to 51.

"NOTIFICATION RECEIVED AT 03:27, INTERVENTION AT 04:15"

Yerlikaya stated, "The first notification was received at 03:27. The teams took action. The first intervention was made at 04:15. The fire is currently extinguished, and cooling efforts are continuing."

1 OF THE INJURED IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION

Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu announced that 1 of the 51 injured is in critical condition and in intensive care.

"THERE ARE 2 FIRE ESCAPES IN THE HOTEL"

Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, responding to a question, stated that there were 2 fire escapes in the hotel.

"CONTROLS MUST BE CARRIED OUT BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT"

Ersoy noted the following:

“Fire competency licenses for the hotel were requested in 2021 and 2024, and the fire competency certificate issued by the fire department exists. Controls must be carried out by the fire department. To date, no negative notification has been made to us by the fire department."

THERE WAS NO FIRE TRUCK IN KARTALKAYA!

Bolu Governor Abdülaziz Aydın, in his statement to TRT Haber, said, "The distance of Kartalkaya to the Bolu city center is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes for fire trucks. We are in a season where icing also occurs. But our colleagues quickly reached the region and intervened in the fire." Following this statement, it was revealed that there was no fire truck in Kartalkaya.

Aydın reported that the fire broke out around 03:30 at night, according to initial findings, on the restaurant floor of the hotel, which was half full with around 234 guests.

Stating that the flames spread from there, Governor Aydın said:

"The distance of Kartalkaya to the Bolu city center is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes for fire trucks. We are in a season where icing also occurs. But our colleagues quickly reached the region and intervened in the fire. Our initial finding is that the fire started in the restaurant on the 4th floor and spread upwards. Cladding material may have caused it to spread quickly.

The fire has been largely brought under control. Our fire department teams are confirming whether there are any citizens affected by the fire by entering the rooms one by one.

A significant portion of our citizens left the hotel by their own means. AFAD made the first intervention. They arrived and began evacuating our citizens. Our citizens are currently being hosted in neighboring hotels located here.

"NEIGHBORING HOTEL EVACUATED"

The fire only affected one of our hotels. There is another hotel about 100 meters away from the hotel. We evacuated that hotel as a precaution; there is no problem there. We are hosting our citizens in nearby hotels as a precaution. Other than that, there is no other hotel or structure that the fire would affect.

Precautions were taken for the vehicles in the common parking lot of the two hotels. We are trying to remove the vehicles there one by one with the help of a tow truck."

Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan, in his statement to Sözcü TV in the morning hours, said that the fire notification was received around 03:30. Stating that the fire broke out in the kitchen area, Özcan noted that the occupancy rate in the hotel was 70 percent due to the semester break.

Özcan had said that the number of dead and injured could increase.

The former state of the hotel...

THEY WERE EVACUATED

Due to the fire, which resulted in injuries according to initial findings, those staying at the hotel were evacuated.

FIELD HOSPITAL ESTABLISHED

While it was stated that the wooden cladding on the exterior of the Grand Kartal Hotel, where the fire broke out, accelerated the fire, a field hospital was established in the region.

When the sun rose, bedsheets tied together on the hotel windows drew attention. It was learned that those trapped in the fire tied the sheets together and climbed out of the hotel by hanging from the window.

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç announced that 6 public prosecutors have been assigned to the hotel fire in Kartalkaya and a 5-person expert committee has been formed.

Minister Tunç's statement is as follows:

"The fire that broke out at a hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya has deeply saddened us all.

A judicial investigation has been initiated by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the fire, and 6 public prosecutors have been assigned. In addition, a 5-person expert committee has been formed.

The investigation is being carried out meticulously.

I wish God's mercy upon our citizens who lost their lives in the fire and a speedy recovery to our injured citizens."

Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan announced that 4 chief inspectors have been assigned to the incident.

Işıkhan's statement is as follows:

"I wish God's mercy upon our citizens who lost their lives in the fire that occurred at a hotel in the Kartalkaya Ski Center in Bolu, and my condolences to their families; I wish a speedy recovery to our injured citizens.

4 Chief Inspectors have been assigned to investigate the tragic incident. Our inspectors will carry out the necessary examinations. As a Ministry, we are following the process closely."

The Ministers of Culture and Tourism, Health, and Interior are conducting inspections in the region.

THERE IS NO FIRE DEPARTMENT UNIT IN THE REGION

It has been revealed that there is no fire department unit in the region where luxury hotels with a 2,000-bed capacity are located.

According to T24's report, the Bolu Municipality Fire Department Press Division stated that there is no fire department unit belonging to the municipality in the region, noting that the hotel has its own fire team.

According to data shared on the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's website, the luxury hotels in Kartalkaya, located between Turkey's capital Ankara and its largest city Istanbul, have a bed capacity of approximately 2,000 and a mechanical facility/ski facility capacity for approximately 10,000 people.

FIRST IMAGES FROM INSIDE THE HOTEL

The first images from inside the hotel where the tragedy occurred have arrived.

It was seen that the hotel, which was observed to have a wooden interior, had turned to ashes.

FIRST IMAGES FROM INSIDE THE HOTEL

The first images from inside the hotel where the tragedy occurred have arrived. It was seen that the hotel, which was observed to have a wooden interior, had turned to ashes.

THERE IS ALSO NO FIRE DEPARTMENT UNIT IN THE REGION

It has been revealed that there is no fire department unit in the region where luxury hotels with a 2,000-bed capacity are located.

According to T24's report, the Bolu Municipality Fire Department Press Division stated that there is no fire department unit belonging to the municipality in the region, noting that the hotel has its own fire team.

According to data shared on the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's website, the luxury hotels in Kartalkaya, located between Turkey's capital Ankara and its largest city Istanbul, have a bed capacity of approximately 2,000 and a mechanical facility/ski facility capacity for approximately 10,000 people.

THERE IS ALSO NO FIRE DEPARTMENT UNIT IN THE REGION

It has been revealed that there is no fire department unit in the region where luxury hotels with a 2,000-bed capacity are located.

According to T24's report, the Bolu Municipality Fire Department Press Division stated that there is no fire department unit belonging to the municipality in the region, noting that the hotel has its own fire team.

According to data shared on the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's website, the luxury hotels in Kartalkaya, located between Turkey's capital Ankara and its largest city Istanbul, have a bed capacity of approximately 2,000 and a mechanical facility/ski facility capacity for approximately 10,000 people.