Tragedy in Türkiye’s luxury hotel; The fire killed 76 people + pictures of the incident

A fire broke out at Kartalkaya ski resort, located in Bulu province, at three o’clock in the morning on the restaurant floor of the Grand Kartal Hotel. This incident left 76 dead and dozens injured. Some hotel guests died by jumping from the hotel window to escape the fire.

This twelve-story hotel had 234 guests at the time of the incident, and according to reports, at least two of the victims died by jumping from the window. The cause of the fire has not yet been announced and the investigation is ongoing. Also, people including the owner of the hotel were arrested in connection with this incident.

The released videos of this fire show that the flames penetrated the upper floors of the hotel, which was built in the style of a cottage, and shot out from the windows that seemed to overlook a cliff. White, knotted sheets hung from the hotel windows, which guests had apparently tried to use to escape.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Türkiye, in response to this tragedy, declared Wednesday a day of national mourning.

One of the survivors, who was interviewed by Turkey‘s Ekol TV, said that no fire alarm went off and that he and his wife woke up to the sound of other people’s voices. According to him, smoke filled the corridors and they and their children survived by jumping onto the roof of a nearby building.

Another survivor also said that it took more than an hour for the fire department to reach the scene of the accident. He added that he saw people on the upper floors screaming and panicking.

Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mohammad Nouri Ersavi, whose ministry is responsible for monitoring hotels, said that the Grand Kartal Hotel was inspected twice in 2021 and 2024. He said in a news conference at the scene of the incident:

The hotel was required to provide work permits and fire safety and had not received any negative reports during these inspections. The hotel had two emergency exits and had received approval from the fire department.

However, Errol Perchin, a representative of the Chamber of Engineers and Architects in Bulu, stated that the responsibility for inspecting the hotel rests directly with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.