(BBC News) At least 76 people have been killed in a fire that engulfed a popular Turkish ski resort hotel, leaving some to jump out of windows.
The fire broke out at the wooden-clad 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu at 03:27 local time (00:27 GMT) during a busy holiday period when 234 people were staying there.
An initial toll of 10 dead was raised significantly in the hours after the fire by Turkey’s interior ministry. At least two people died trying to jump to safety.
It took 12 hours for the fire to be put out. Four people have been arrested, including the owner, the justice minister says.
The identities of all 66 are yet to be confirmed, but among those released so far are Vedia Nil Apak, a 10-year-old swimmer with Fenerbahce Sports Club in Istanbul, and her mother Ferda.
Health minister Kemal Memisoglu said that of the 51 injured people, one was receiving treatment in intensive care, and 17 people had been discharged.
“Our pain is great,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
Footage circulating in Turkey showed linen hanging from windows which was used by those trying to escape the burning building.
The cause of the fire has not yet been found, but Bolu governor Abdulaziz Aydin said initial reports suggested it had broken out in the restaurant section of the hotel’s fourth floor and spread to the floors above.
Aydin said the distance between the hotel, in Kartalkaya, and the centre of Bolu, paired with the freezing weather conditions, meant it took more than an hour for fire engines to arrive. Emergency services sent 267 workers to the site.
Guests evacuated from the hotel were taken to hotels closer to the centre of Bolu.
