Turkey declares national day of mourning after ski resort fire kills at least 76

The blaze struck a popular ski resort hotel, leaving dozens dead.

Ezgi Akin
Ezgi Akin
Jan 21, 2025
The fire at a hotel in Turkey’s northwestern province of Bolu at a 12-story wooden-clad hotel
A 12-story wooden-clad hotel in Bolu is seen engulfed in flames on Jan. 21, 2024.

ANKARA — As the death toll from an overnight fire at a popular ski resort in northwest Turkey rises to 76, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the country will observe a day of national mourning on Wednesday.

The fire, which started at around 3:30 a.m. local time in Turkey’s northwestern province of Bolu at a 12-story wood-clad hotel, was brought under control after more than nine hours. Speaking at the scene, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 51 others were injured in the fire.

Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu, who traveled to Bolu with Yerlikaya, said among only one of the injured is in critical condition.

In a televised address after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan announced the country would observe a national day of mourning on Wednesday. “We know that citizens who have lost their loved ones are in deep sorrow and pain,” he said. “A day of mourning has been declared to share the grief of our brothers and sisters.”

Before-dawn videos circulating on social media showed blazes engulfing all the floors of the hotel.

The interior of the Grand Kartal Hotel’s first floor was largely destroyed by the fire, footage by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency showed. At the time the fire broke out there were 238 people inside, according to Yerlikaya.

Officials put the initial death toll from the fire at 10 earlier Tuesday, but it rose gradually as the emergency teams were able to reach areas that were inaccessible during the fire.

More than 250 emergency workers were dispatched to the area, the Bolu governor’s office said in a statement.

Sheets tied together were seen hanging from the higher floors of the hotel as some of the guests used them to escape the fire. Turkey’s private HaberTurk TV said two individuals died while they tried to escape this way.

The reason for the fire remains unknown and an investigation was launched by Bolu prosecutors, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said. 

Later on Tuesday Yerlikaya announced that nine people, including the owner of the facility, had been detained. He didn’t provide names.

While no fire escapes are visible on the images featuring the outside of the hotel from different angles, Culture and Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy, who also traveled to the scene, said there were two fire escapes inside the building.

Some guests claimed that the fire alarm in the hotel had not sounded, HaberTurk reported, citing interviews with hotel guests at the scene.

Erdogan expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the fire and wished the injured a speedy recovery as he vowed to hold those responsible accountable.

“Those responsible will certainly be held accountable,” Erdogan told members of his party earlier Tuesday, cutting his address short due to the tragedy.

Ozgur Ozel, leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party, also canceled his weekly parliamentary address.

Kartalkaya ski resort, some 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of Ankara, is one of the top ski destinations in Turkey. The resort hosted some 250,000 people in 2023, according to a 2024 report by Anadolu. The resort usually operates at full capacity during this time of the year, when primary and high schools are on winter break.

This developing story has been updated since initial publication.

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