A fire in the Turkish ski resort of a hotel in Bolu left 10 dead

A fire at a hotel in the Turkish ski resort of Bolu has killed 10 people and injured 32 others, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

At least two of the victims died after jumping from hotel windows, Turkish reports said.

The fire broke out at the 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel at 03:27 local time (00:27 GMT) during a busy holiday period when 234 people were staying there, he added.

Footage released in Turkey shows linen hanging from windows, which was used by those trying to escape the burning building.

Bolu Governor Abdulaziz Ayden said initial reports suggested the fire started in the restaurant area on the fourth floor of the hotel and spread to the upper floors.

The hotel was investigating whether guests were trapped in their rooms when the fire spread.

The governor told reporters that the distance between the hotel in Kartalkaya and the center of Bolu, combined with cold weather conditions, meant it took more than an hour for fire engines to arrive.

Rescue operations continued throughout the morning and the interior minister said emergency services had sent 267 people to respond to the fire.

By mid-morning, the local mayor said they were still trying to reach parts of the hotel.

The Bolu Mountains are popular with skiers from Istanbul and the capital Ankara, and the hotel was operating at high occupancy at the start of the two-week school holidays.

The northwestern city is about 170 km (105 mi) from Ankara.

Although the fire was contained to one hotel, the governor told Turkish media that a neighboring hotel had been evacuated as a precaution.

Ski instructor Nejmi Kepcetutan told Turkish television that he was able to escape because he knew the hotel, while guests who did not know it as well as he did were not so lucky.

“People were shouting out the windows, 'Save us,' because there was heavy smoke inside. We pulled out 20-25 people,” he told NTV.

The circumstances that led to the fire are still unclear.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said prosecutors had been appointed to investigate the fire.