No fewer than 10 people died in a fire at a hotel in a ski resort in north-western Turkey, the country’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said early on Tuesday.

Thirty-two others were injured in the blaze, which occurred in the province of Bolu, Yerlikaya said on X.

The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the fire broke out overnight, but the cause remains unclear.

According to Anadolu, 30 fire engines and 28 ambulances were deployed to the scene.

He said the images showed flames engulfing the roof and upper floors of the hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort, a popular destination for locals.

The emergency services continued to battle the flames in the morning.

The hotel’s wooden facade allowed the fire to spread rapidly, broadcaster NTV reported.

Videos showed people desperately trying to escape by tying bedsheets together.

A witness told the newspaper Hürriyet that he had seen people jumping out of the window.

According to the report, the hotel was fully occupied, with 234 people staying there when the fire broke out, occurring during Turkey’s school holidays.

(dpa/NAN)