A fire at a hotel in a popular ski resort in Turkey has killed at least 66 people, the country’s interior minister has said.
Ali Yerlikaya added that at least 51 other people were injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in the Bolu mountains in the northwest of the country.
The health minister said at least one of the injured was in serious condition.
“We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel,” Mr Yerlikaya said.
The fire broke out at around 3.30am in the restaurant of the 12-storey hotel, officials said.
There were 234 guests staying at the hotel, Bolu Governor Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency.
Some jumped out of windows in panic to escape the flames.
Several fire engines surrounded the charred building, and white bed sheets tied together could be seen hanging from one upper-floor window where guests attempted to flee.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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