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 early Wednesday.

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.

Authorities are facing growing criticism over the hotel’s safety measures, as survivors reported that no fire alarms went off during the incident. Guests said they had to navigate the smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.

President Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday a day of national mourning following the tragedy, which occurred during the peak of the winter tourism season, with many families from Istanbul and Ankara travelling to the Bolu mountains for skiing.

Nine people, including the hotel’s owner, were detained for questioning as an investigation began into the blaze at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains, about 300km (185 miles) east of Istanbul.

“We are in deep pain,” interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said after he visited the scene of the disaster. Police detained nine people as part of the investigation, Mr Yerlikaya said.

The fire occurred near the start of a two-week winter break for schools, when hotels in the region are packed. There were 234 guests, of whom 51 were injured, one of them critically.

“My wife smelled the burning. The alarm did not go off,” said Atakan Yelkovan, a guest staying on the third floor. “We tried to go upstairs but couldn’t, there were flames. We went downstairs and came here [outside].”

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Barış Salgür, an employee at a neighboring hotel, told Turkish media that he was resting in his room when he heard cries for help coming from the windows of the burning hotel.

“We were in a state of panic,” Salgür told state-run Anadolu Agency.

“We could see smoke billowing from the upper sections of the building. We hurriedly gathered ropes, pillows and quilts. People were screaming for help as we waited for the fire brigade. It took about two hours. By the time the fire trucks arrived, the upper floors were fully engulfed.

The first victims of the devastating fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya, Turkey, have been identified.

Among the 76 people killed in the devastating fire at the ski resort in Bolu province was Vedia Nil Apak, a 10-year-old swimmer with Fenerbahce Sports Club, and her mother, Ferda.

Eslem Uyanik, a chef at the hotel, also lost her life, as did Ceren Yaman Dogan, the daughter of a prominent local businessman, and her 17-year-old daughter, Lalin.

Journalist Nedim Turkmen, his wife Ayse Neva, and their two children, aged 18 and 22, were also identified among the victims, along with Prof Atakan Yalcin, the dean of Ozyegin University Business School.

Dilara Ermanoglu, a 24-year-old guest, was identified as another victim of the ski resort fire.

Authorities are working to confirm the identities of other victims. All those named so far are Turkish nationals.

A day of national mourning has been declared on Wednesday after at least 66 people died in a fire at a popular ski resort in Turkey.

In a post on social media site X, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “A one-day national mourning was declared in order to share the grief of the relatives of our brothers who lost their lives in a fire that broke out in a hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya.

“On Wednesday, January 22, 2025, our flags will be flown at half-staff until sunset in our country and in our foreign missions. In any case, those who caused such a disaster to occur, those who were negligent and at fault will be held accountable before the law.

“Today is not a day for politics; it is a day for solidarity, for being one and together. I would like to express that we expect all actors, including politics, media and local administrators, to respect the suffering of our citizens.

“Once again, I pray to God to have mercy on our deceased citizens and grant patience to their families; I convey my condolences and get well wishes to our nation. May God protect our country and our nation from such painful events.”

Witnesses who saw the blaze tear through the 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel have described the mayhem and chaos that led to the deaths of at least 76 people.

“It was like the apocalypse. The flames engulfed the hotel immediately, like in half an hour,” said Mevlut Ozer, who witnessed the incident at the Kartalkaya ski resort in northwest Turkey.

In their attempts to flee, several people jumped from windows or attempted to use bed linens to lower themselves to the ground.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, declared a day of national mourning on Wednesday for those killed in the ski resort fire that claimed 76 lives.

“A one-day national mourning has been declared across the country tomorrow. I extend my condolences and wish God’s mercy upon our deceased citizens,” Mr Erdogan told reporters in Ankara on Tuesday.

“We expect respect from everyone, including politicians, the media and local administrators, to respect the pain of our citizens,” he said.

According to the The Daily Sabah newspaper, the hotel’s location made it difficult for firefighters to control the blaze.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said there were 238 guests at the hotel situated at the base of several ski slopes and which smouldered until the afternoon.

“I would like to share this pain, which is impossible to describe,” he said at the resort in offering condolences and announcing that the fire was extinguished.

“Since the back of the hotel is on a slope, fire extinguishing efforts could only be carried out from the front and side facades,” he said, adding crews began battling the mountaintop blaze about 45 minutes after the first call.