Getty ImagesA fire that broke out in a hotel in the Turkish ski resort of Bolu killed 10 people and injured 32 others, according to what Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced.
Turkish reports stated that at least two victims died after jumping from the hotel windows.
He added that the fire broke out in the 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel at 03:27 local time (00:27 GMT) during a busy holiday period in which 234 people were staying.
Footage circulating in Türkiye showed linens hanging from windows that were used by those trying to escape from the burning building.
Bolu Governor Abdulaziz Aydin said that initial reports indicate that the fire broke out in the restaurant section on the fourth floor of the hotel and spread to the upper floors.
The hotel is investigating whether guests were trapped in their rooms as the fire spread.
The governor told reporters that the distance between the hotel in Kartalkaya and central Bolu, combined with the freezing weather conditions, meant that it took more than an hour for fire engines to arrive.
Rescue efforts continued until the morning, and the Minister of Interior said that emergency services deployed 267 people to respond to the fire.
By mid-morning, the local mayor said they were still trying to reach parts of the hotel.
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Getty ImagesThe Bolu Mountains are popular with skiers from Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, and the hotel was operating at a high occupancy rate at the start of the two-week school holiday.
The northwestern city is located about 170 kilometers (105 miles) from Ankara.
Although the fire was limited to one hotel, the governor told Turkish media that a nearby hotel had been evacuated as a precaution.
Ski instructor Necmi Kipsitotan told Turkish TV that he was able to escape because he knew the hotel, while guests who did not know him like him were not so lucky.
He told NTV, “People were screaming at the windows: Save us, because the smoke was thick inside. We took out between 20 and 25 people.”
The circumstances that led to the fire are not yet clear.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tonk said that prosecutors had been allocated to investigate the fire.
