Witnesses describe helplessness over Turkish ski hotel fire horror

People leapt out of the burning structure in the Koroglu mountains, according to people on the scene.

Witnesses have described their helplessness and horror over people screaming for help and jumping out of windows as flames tore through a 12-storey hotel at a popular Turkish ski resort.

The fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya in the north-western Koroglu mountains on Tuesday left at least 76 people dead and 51 injured.

People rushed to bring mattresses for those escaping the fire to jump onto or propped up ladders against the wall to help them escape.

Knotted bed sheets hang from a window of a hotel where a fire broke out — Witnesses described desperate attempts to escape the fire (AP)

Halime Cetin, an employee at a hotel adjacent to the Grand Kartal, said: “There was no-one around. They were calling for firefighters. They were breaking the windows. Some could no longer stand the smoke and flames, and they jumped.”

Her colleague, Esra Karakisa said: “It was awful. We were terrified. People were screaming. The cries of children especially affected us. We wanted to help but there was nothing we could do. I couldn’t look, it was so terrifying.”

Authorities have assigned six prosecutors to investigate the cause of the fire, which appeared to have started at the restaurant section on the fourth floor of of the wooden-clad hotel and spread quickly through to the upper floors.

Firefighters and emergency teams work on the aftermath — Many of the bodies have not yet been identified (AP)

Flags at government buildings and Turkish diplomatic missions abroad were lowered to half-staff as the nation shocked by the disaster observed a day of mourning for the victims.

Only 45 of the 76 bodies have been identified so far, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday night.

One of the injured is in serious condition, while 29 others were treated and released, the Health Ministry said.

The hotel had 238 registered guests, according to Mr Yerlikaya. The fire was reported at 3.27am local time (12.27am GMT) and the fire department began to respond at 4.15am (1.15am GMT), he told reporters.

Officials and witnesses said the rescue efforts were hampered by the fact that part of the 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff.

A Turkish flag flag flies at half staff outside the hotel — Flags were flown at half mast after the tragedy (AP)

Ms Karakisa said she eventually brought clothes and water for the survivors while others rushed to bring mattresses for people to jump onto or propped up ladders against the wall to help them escape.

Among those who placed mattresses was Baris Salgur, a cleaner in a nearby hotel.

“They were saying, ‘Please help, we’re burning!’ They were saying, ‘Call the fire department.’ We were trying to calm them down, but there was nothing we could do, we couldn’t get in either,” the 19-year-old said.

“It was very high, we couldn’t extend a rope or anything of course. We were trying to do the best we could.

“People jumped from a great height, I couldn’t look. There were two women at the top floor. The flames had literally entered the room. They couldn’t stand it and jumped.”

Mr Salgur described seeing a man on the top floors holding a baby and shouting for a mattress he could throw his baby on.

“We told him to be a little calmer. He waited, then the fire department came and took them (out), but unfortunately the baby had died from smoke inhalation,” he said.