Nigeria condoles with Turkiye over ski resort fire that killed 76

Nigeria has condoled with the Government and People of Turkiye over the fire incident at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort where 76 people died.

This is contained in a statement by Kimiebi Ebienfa, acting spokesperson of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.

“The Federal Republic of Nigeria wishes to express deep condolence to the Government and People of the Republic of Turkiye over the unfortunate fire incident at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort.

“The fire, which claimed the lives of 76 persons and injured more than 50 others in Bolu Province in Northwestern Turkiye, was reported to have started in the early hours of Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria sympathises with the Government of the Republic of Turkiye and the families of the victims of the fire incident, and also wishes a speedy recovery of the injured,” the statement said.

The 12-storey hotel, which had 238 registered guests, was consumed by flames after the fire started on the restaurant floor around 3:30 a.m. (0030 GMT).

Survivors described scenes of panic as they fled through smoke-filled corridors and jumped from windows to escape.

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.
(NAN)