Turkey has detained nine people, including the owner of the hotel, in connection with a deadly fire that claimed the lives of 76 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in western Turkey, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Wednesday.
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Yerlikaya also reported that the bodies of 45 victims had been handed over to their families, while DNA tests were being conducted to identify the remaining bodies at the forensic institute. Alongside the dead, another 51 people were injured.
The fire occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in the Bolu mountains.
It took around 10 hours to control the fire, Anadolu Agency reported. The hotel’s position at the top of a steep slope made it more difficult to extinguish.
“Our hearts are broken. We are in mourning,” Yerlikaya told reporters outside the hotel on Tuesday. “But you should know that whoever is responsible for causing this pain will not escape justice.”
The hotel expressed deep sorrow in a statement on Wednesday and pledged full cooperation with the investigation.