Turkey is in mourning after a huge fire broke out a popular ski resort hotel, killing 66 people and injuring dozens more. The fire broke out at around 3.30 am in the restaurant of the 12-storey four-star Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu.

Ali Yerlikaya said at least 51 other people were injured in the disaster that struck the Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during the schools' semester break, when hotels in the region are packed.

The Foreign Ministry expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the government and people of Turkey, for the fire incident that happened in northwest Turkey's Bolu city, which claimed the lives of 66 people.

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.

Tuesday's fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya left at least 79 people dead and 51 injured, happening during a particularly busy season.

Dozens of people were killed after a fire ripped through a ski resort hotel in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, forcing desperate holidaymakers to leap from windows to escape from the flames and smoke.

Guests said no fire alarms could be heard and there was no sign of firefighters for a long period The fire that killed 78 people at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the early hours of Monday is one of the deadliest disasters of its kind in Turkish history.