“People were calling for help”: at least 66 dead in Türkiye in ski resort hotel fire

If the cause of the disaster is not yet known, controversy and anger are growing among the survivors, who denounce negligence. At least sixty-six people have died and 51 have been injured so far, according to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who visited the site on Tuesday, January 21. In the meantime, the toll of this fire is heavy, in this hotel apparently without an alarm system, which occurred “ at 03:27 a.m. (00:27 GMT) »he confirmed, in the Kartalkaya ski resort 170 km east of Ankara, in central Turkey.

According to the minister, “The fire is now under control.” Et « cooling operations »they continue. He also added that 238 guests were registered at the twelve-story luxury property, Grand Kartal at the time.

“Some threw themselves into the void”

“People were calling for help, asking for blankets so they could get out through the windows”testified Baris Salgur, employee of a nearby hotel. “We brought them what we found, ropes, pillows, and even a sofa… When the flames approached them, some threw themselves into the void » he continued.

Indeed, according to the private television channel NTV, at least three people died jumping out of windows. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc, who also visited the site, announced the opening of an investigation entrusted to “six prosecutors” and the formation of a committee of experts to support them.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya promised that “all measures will be taken if the investigation shows that there has been negligence or that faults have been committed”. In front of his AKP party, meeting in congress, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also assured that “everything will be done to shed light on all aspects of the tragedy and to hold those responsible to account”.

428 firefighters mobilized

And images taken by drone bear witness to the devastation in the roof and upper floors of the establishment. The hotel, installed at the top of a cliff to have a panoramic view, which complicated the intervention of the 428 firefighters mobilized and arrived on the scene at 4:15 a.m., said the Minister of the Interior.

Hotel employees helped evacuate guests, but witnesses and media on site denounce the absence of alarms and smoke detectors. “No alarm went off, no smoke detector or emergency staircase even though there was smoke up to the tenth floor”denounced on television a crying fifty-year-old, who had been with his family since Sunday in the establishment, reports Agence France-Presse.