A fire has broken out at a ski resort hotel in northwestern Turkey killing ten people and hospitalising another 32 with injuries, officials said.

The blaze broke out overnight at the restaurant of a hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

‘Two-hundred and sixty-seven personnel from various public institutions and organisations responded to the fire and the response is ongoing,’ he wrote on X.

Private NTV broadcaster said three people died after jumping from the hotel’s windows.

Bolu Governor Abdulaziz Aydin told Turkish news outlet TRT the started on the fourth floor of the 11-storey hotel at around 3.30am.

Television images showed the roof and top floors of the hotel on fire, with some guests trying to climb down from their rooms using sheets to escape the blaze.

Other footage showed huge plumes of smoke rising into the sky with a snow-capped mountain behind the hotel.

The resort is located on top of a mountain range about 170 kilometres (100 miles) northwest of the capital Ankara.

The fire, which is believed to have started in the restaurant at around midnight, spread quickly.

It was not immediately clear what caused it.

Part of the hotel backs onto a cliff, making it harder for firefighters to tackle the blaze.

At the time of the inferno breaking out, there were 237 were staying at the hotel where its occupancy rate was between 80 and 90 percent due to the school holidays, according to local reports.

30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances rushed to the site, as other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution.

30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances rushed to the site after the fire broke out this morning

Those evacuated were rehoused in nearby hotels.

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.