Authorities in Turkey have detained 11 people they said are involved in the fire that killed 79 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in the Bolu mountains. The fire occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort, a 12-storey hotel which had 238 registered guests. The blaze started on the restaurant floor around 3:30 a.m. Several funerals were held on Wednesday for the victims of Tuesday’s blaze, after the fire forced panicked hotel guests to jump from windows in the middle of the night.
The Interior Minister of Turkey initially said on Tuesday that 76 people had been killed in the fire; however, the Bolu prosecutor’s office updated the death toll to 79 on Wednesday evening following forensic DNA tests. According to local media reports, at least 20 of the fire victims were children.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on social media Wednesday that as part of the investigation into the fire, a deputy mayor of the northwestern Bolu province, the head of the municipality’s fire department, the owner and the manager of the hotel were among those detained.
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said at one funeral for eight victims in Bolu in western Turkey: “Our hearts and souls are hurting and we are currently trying to fulfill this duty. I pray for patience for the entire family and our nation.” The bodies of 45 victims were handed over to their families, while forensic DNA tests were being conducted to identify the others, the government said.
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