JAKARTA – Beratus-ratus penyelamat sedang mencari mangsa yang terperangkap dalam lumpur tebal dan serpihan selepas tanah runtuh yang mengorbankan sekurang-kurangnya 19 orang dan menyebabkan tujuh lagi hilang.

Hujan lebat di kawasan pergunungan berhampiran bandar Pekalongan di wilayah Jawa Tengah menyebabkan tanah dan jambatan runtuh hingga menimbus kereta serta rumah.

“Pasukan mencari dan menyelamat berjaya menemui dan memindahkan dua mayat… pada pagi Rabu. Jumlah kematian yang direkodkan setakat tengah hari ini ialah 19 orang,” kata jurucakap Badan Mitigasi Bencana Negara (BNPB) Abdul Muhari. .

Kedua-dua mayat yang ditemui pagi tadi adalah sebahagian daripada senarai orang yang dilaporkan hilang dalam kejadian tragis itu.

KARTALKAYA, Turkiye: Anger was growing in Turkiye on Wednesday as allegations piled up that negligence played a role in the deaths of 79 people who perished when a huge fire swept through a luxury ski resort hotel in northern Turkiye.

With the nation observing a day of mourning, grieving families began burying their dead as questions multiplied about fire safety measures at the 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel perched on a mountaintop in the Kartalkaya resort.

Front pages, including those of the pro-government dailies, were plastered with allegations of negligence which they blamed for the shocking death toll.

On a freezing foggy morning, with flags flying at half-mast, 12 of the 51 injured were still in hospital, including one in intensive care.

"There is no excuse for such a high number of deaths in 2025," Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition CHP party, said outside the blackened facade of the hotel where rescuers were combing through the ruins on Wednesday.

The fire, which began in the middle of the night, struck at peak season for the hotel, with 238 guests staying for the winter school holidays which began on Friday.

At a funeral in the nearby town of Bolu for eight members of the same family who died in the blaze, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could be seen wiping away tears, his head bowed.

"When I got to the hotel, there were flames everywhere and we could hear screams," said Cevdet Can, who runs a nearby ski school.

"I saw one person jump out of the window" to her death, Can told AFP, adding that it was seeing children trapped "that upset me most."

Another ski instructor who escaped the hotel unharmed said he was unable to rescue his pupils, the youngest of whom was six.

"I lost five of my students who were staying on the sixth and seventh floors," 58-year-old Necmi Kepcetutan told AFP, adding that another colleague had jumped to her death.

The blaze broke out around 3.30am (0030 GMT), sparking panic among the guests, many of whom tried to climb out of the windows, using bedsheets as ropes.

Some fell to their deaths, media reports said.

Speaking to Turkish media outlets, many survivors told the same story: that there were no alarms warning them about the fire, no fire doors, and no safe ways for people to exit the hotel.

Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy on Tuesday said that the hotel had passed an inspection last year and had two fire escapes, saying "no issues related to fire safety had been flagged by the fire department."

A rescuer with the national catastrophe management agency Afad told AFP on condition of anonymity that "I saw fire escapes, but I suggest comparing this hotel's fire escapes to those at nearby hotels. In the end, experts will decide."

So far, 11 people have been arrested, among them the hotel's owner, general manager, director and chief electrician, as well as the chief of Bolu's fire department, the justice ministry told AFP.

The hotel's management has presented its condolences and said it would cooperate with authorities to "shed full light on this accident."

Situated at one of the most expensive ski resorts in Turkiye, the hotel boasted a prestigious client list that included executives, entrepreneurs and well-known doctors, many of whom were there with their children and family members.

By Wednesday afternoon, more than 20 victims had yet to be identified.

KARTALKAYA (Turkiye), Jan 22 — A huge fire ripped through a luxury hotel in a popular ski resort in northern Turkey before dawn on Tuesday, killing 76 people and injuring 51 others.

Some survivors said no fire alarms went off nor were there any fire escapes at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya which lies 170 kilometres (100 miles) northwest of Ankara.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the fire started around 3.27am (0027 GMT) inside the luxury 12-storey hotel, which is perched on a mountaintop in Kartalkaya, about 40 kilometres from the north-western town of Bolu.

It was not clear what sparked the blaze but unconfirmed press reports said it began in the fourth-floor restaurant.

Several survivors and witnesses reported smelling smoke and seeing flames as early as 2.30am, with some saying there was a delay of at least “an hour” before the firefighters arrived.

The minister said “156 fire engines and 428 firefighters” were at the scene within 45 minutes.

Who was affected?

Yerlikaya said 76 people died and another 51 were injured. By Tuesday afternoon, 17 had been discharged, leaving 34 in hospital, one in intensive care

It was peak season for the hotel which had 238 guests staying, the minister said.

Many were there for the two-week winter break which began on Friday, the hotel advertising a double room for around 30,000 Turkish lira (RM3,770) full board.

By Tuesday night, 56 of the victims had been identified and 45 bodies returned to their families.

Among the victims were 14 members of the same family, the Turkish media reported on Wednesday.

What about the investigation?

In a statement, the Grand Kartal Hotel said it had family members staying there and was “very badly shaken by the tragedy”.

It said it was cooperating with the investigation which began Tuesday.

Yerlikaya said nine people were arrested, including the hotel’s owner.

Six prosecutors are looking into what caused of the fire, any possible negligence and who was responsible.

What have survivors said?

Several guests who managed to escape told Turkish media there were no alarms, no smoke detectors and no fire escapes.

Witnesses reported seeing trapped guests screaming for help from the upper floors or climbing out of windows using bedsheets as a rope to escape the flames.

But Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy said the hotel had two fire escapes and had passed inspections “in 2021 and 2024”.

“No issues related to fire safety had been flagged by the fire department,” he said on Tuesday.

The pro-government Hurriyet newspaper however pointed to negligence.

“It was not the fire but the negligence which was responsible for so many deaths,” it said. — AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini menzahirkan rasa sedih dan takziah terhadap mangsa yang terbabit dalam kejadian kebakaran di sebuah resort ski di Pergunungan Köroğlu, Türkiye yang mengorbankan 76 nyawa.

Beliau berkata, rakyat Malaysia hari ini bersama dengan warga dan kerajaan Turkiye yang sedang berkabung akibat tragedi itu.

"Saya berasa sedih dengan kejadian kebakaran dahsyat di sebuah resort ski di Pergunungan Köroğlu, Türkiye, yang secara tragis meragut 76 nyawa dan mencederakan ramai lagi.

"Doa dan rasa simpati saya kepada mangsa, keluarga mereka yang sedang berduka dan terkesan akibat tragedi ini.

"Malaysia berdiri bersama rakyat dan kerajaan Türkiye sewaktu negara itu berkabung atas tragedi ini," katanya dalam kenyataan di media sosialnya, hari ini.

Media antarabangsa hari ini melaporkan, sekurang-kurangnya 76 maut dalam kebakaran besar yang memusnahkan sebuah hotel di pusat peranginan ski popular di utara Turkiye, yang dipenuhi pengunjung untuk menikmati cuti musim sejuk mereka bersama keluarga.

Kebakaran di Hotel Grand Kartal di Kartalkaya berlaku sekitar jam 3:30 pagi (0030 GMT), mengeluarkan kepulan asap besar ke udara sehingga mencetuskan panik dalam kalangan pengunjungnya.

"Malangnya jumlah kematian kini 76 orang," kata Menteri Dalam Negeri, Ali Yerlikaya, pada malam Selasa, mengemas kini angka awal yang mencatatkan 66 kematian.

Beliau berkata, 52 daripada mangsa sudah dikenal pasti setakat ini, dengan pakar forensik berusaha untuk menentukan identiti yang lain dan kebanyakan mayat mangsa sudah diserahkan kepada keluarga mereka.