The fire broke out in the restaurant of the 12-storey Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, officials and reports said.
A fire raged through a 12-storey hotel at a popular ski resort in north-western Turkey early on Tuesday during a school holiday, killing at least 76 people — at least two of them when they jumped from the building to escape the flames.
At least 51 people were also injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, in Bolu province's Koroglu mountains, some 300km east of Istanbul, said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The fire occurred near the start of a two-week winter break for schools, when hotels in the region are packed.
"We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel," Yerlikaya said after inspecting the site.
The fire erupted at 3.30am (5.30pm AEDT) in the restaurant of the 12-storey Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, officials and reports said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation. Two of the victims died after jumping from the building in a panic, Governor Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency.
Atakan Yelkovan, a hotel guest staying on the third floor, told the IHA news agency there was chaos on the upper floors as other guests tried to escape the fire, including by trying to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets
"People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets ... Some tried to jump," Yelkovan said.
Yerlikaya said 45 of the 76 people killed have been identified while efforts to identify the other victims were continuing.
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The government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the blaze, which is believed to have started in the hotel's restaurant section. Nine people have been detained as part of the investigation into the fire, Yerlikaya said. Earlier,
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said the hotel's owner was among the people detained for questioning in the probe.
Witnesses and reports said the hotel's fire detection system failed to operate.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a day of national mourning to be observed on Wednesday. All flags at government buildings and Turkish diplomatic mission abroad would be lowered to half-staff, he said.
Necmi Kepcetutan, a ski instructor at the hotel, said he was asleep when the fire erupted and he rushed out of the building. He told NTV television that he then helped some 20 guests out of the hotel.
"My wife smelled the burning. The alarm did not go off," Atakan Yelkovan, a guest staying on the third floor of the hotel, told the IHA news agency.
"We tried to go upstairs but couldn't, there were flames. We went downstairs and came here (outside)," he said.
Yelkovan said it took about an hour for the firefighting teams to arrive.
"People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets ... some tried to jump," he said.
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The 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff, hampering efforts to combat the flames, the station also reported.
NTV showed a smoke-blackened lobby, its glass entrance and windows smashed, its wooden reception desk charred and a chandelier crashed to the ground.
Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometres east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during the school semester break when hotels in the region are packed.
Aydin's office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.
Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution and guests were placed in hotels around Bolu.
Meanwhile, a natural gas explosion at a hotel at another ski resort in central Turkey injured four people.
The explosion took place at the Yildiz Mountain Winter Sports Centre in Sivas province. Two alpine skiers and their instructor were slightly injured while another instructor received second-degree burns on the hands and face, the Sivas governor’s office said.
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