4 Arrested After Fire at Popular Ski Resort that Reportedly Killed at Least 76

Mar. 15, 2025

Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center.Photo:Mehmet Emin Gurbuz/Anadolu via Getty

Mehmet Emin Gurbuz/Anadolu via Getty

Four people have been arrested in connection with a fire at a ski resort in northwestern Turkey that reportedlykilled at least 76 peopleand injured at least 51 early on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

The owner of the 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya is one of the four arrested,Turkish Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunçannounced on X.

The blaze started at around 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday morning at the establishment in Bolu province’s Köroğlu Mountains area, theAssociated Pressreported, citing local authorities.

Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center.Evrim Aydin/Anadolu via Getty

Evrim Aydin/Anadolu via Getty

Witnesses and officials described a horrific scene of people jumping out windows.

The employee, who did not provide his name, said two women on the top floor, which was hosting students, jumped out and died.

“My wife smelled the burning. The alarm did not go off,” Atakan Yelkovan, a guest at the hotel told the news agency IHA, per the AP. “We tried to go upstairs but couldn’t, there were flames. We went downstairs and came [outside]."

“People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets … Some tried to jump,” Yelkovan said.

Eylem Senturk, another guest, said she was able to escape with her daughter but her husband was stuck,CBS 19reported, citing an interview with the Anadolu news agency. He was reportedly able to jump from the window to a safety roof.

The hotel had more than 230 guests at the time of the fire, Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, per the AP.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’sfree True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

A cause for the fire has not been announced as of the publishing of this report. Bolu governor Abdulaziz Aydin said it likely broke out in the restaurant section and spread, theBBCreported.

The distance between the hotel and the city center, as well as the frigid weather, slowed the firefighters' response to the scene, Bolu said. Nearly 270 emergency services personnel reportedly came to the scene.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğanhas announced a national day of mourning for Wednesday, while reiterating that those responsible will be held accountable.

“Every stage of the investigation is carried out with great care and sensitivity,” justice minister Tunç said.

source: people.com