Turkey detains 11 people over ski resort hotel fire that killed 79, Justice Minister says [Video]

Turkey has detained 11 people as part of an investigation into a fire that killed 79 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in the Bolu mountains, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Wednesday.

A deputy mayor of the northwestern Bolu province, the head of the municipality’s fire department, the owner and the manager of the hotel were among those detained, Tunc said on X.

Several funerals were held on Wednesday for the victims of Tuesday’s blaze, including numerous children. The fire forced panicked hotel guests to jump from windows in the middle of the night.

“Our hearts and souls are hurting,” President Tayyip Erdogan said at a funeral for eight victims from the same family in Bolu in western Turkey.

“I pray for patience for the entire family and our nation.”

The bodies of 45 victims were handed over to their families, and forensic DNA tests were being conducted to identify the others, …