Death toll in Turkey hotel fire rises to 76 including two who leapt from clifftop building as blaze engulfed ski resort

AT least 76 people have been killed after a hotel at a Turkish ski resort went up in flames.

Two died jumping from windows as the fierce blaze engulfed the 12-storey Grand Kartal hotel in the middle of the night.

Other panicked guests tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets, witnesses said.

Four people, including the hotel owner, have been arrested and are in custody.

The fire is believed to have started in the restaurant before spreading quickly.

Shocking images show huge plumes of smoke coming from the hotel in front of a snow-capped mountain at the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center.

Part of the 161-room hotel backs onto a cliff, hampering efforts to combat the flames.

238 guests were registered at the hotel and they were forced to evacuate after the fire was reported at 3.27am local time.

Emergency crews supported by helicopters were deployed to the scene and the fire department responded at 4.15am.

Authorities have confirmed 76 deaths, while a further 51 were injured.

Two people died after jumping from the hotel windows to escape, Bolu Governor Abdulaziz Aydın said.

Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said at least one of the injured was in serious condition, while 17 others had been treated and released.

Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, after inspecting the site, said: "We are in deep pain.

"We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel."

Witnesses claimed the hotel's fire detection system failed to operate.

Atakan Yelkovan, a guest staying on the third floor of the hotel, told the IHA news agency: "My wife smelled the burning. The alarm did not go off.

"We tried to go upstairs but couldn't, there were flames. We went downstairs and came here [outside]."

Yelkovan said it took about an hour for the firefighting teams to arrive.

He added: "People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets - some tried to jump."

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said six prosecutors had been allocated to investigate the blaze.

The health, interior and culture ministers are expected to visit the site later in the day.

Aydın confirmed the fire started on the restaurant floor.

Necmi Kepcetutan, a ski instructor at the hotel, said he was asleep when the fire erupted and he rushed out of the building.

He told NTV television that he then helped some 20 guests out of the hotel.

Kepcetutan told how the hotel was engulfed in smoke, making it difficult for guests to locate the fire escape.

He added: "I cannot reach some of my students. I hope they are OK."

Local media suggested the wooden cladding on the exterior of the hotel, in a chalet-style design, may have accelerated the spread of the fire.

Other hotels in the resort were also forced to evacuate their guests, as a precaution.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a day of national mourning on Wednesday - following the tragic disaster.

The President said: "Unfortunately, we received very sad news this morning from Bolu, Kartalkaya.

"Our brothers and sisters were killed and injured in a fire that broke out in a hotel."

He added: "All necessary steps will be taken to shed light on all aspects of the incident and to hold those responsible accountable."