TEHRAN, January 21 (MNA)–Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman condoled on behalf of Iranian government and people to the families of victims, government and people of neighboring and friendly Turkey over the deadly fire in a hotel's restaurant in Kartalkaya.Esmaeil Baghaei asked God Almighty for mercy and forgiveness for those who lost their lives in this tragic incident and wished health and speedy recovery for the injured.

A fire took place on Tuesday at a ski resort hotel in Turkey and killed at least 66 people and injured 51, Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

Local media suggested that the wooden cladding on the hotel's exterior may have accelerated the spread of the fire, Euronews reports.

“We are in deep pain.

We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel,” Yerlikaya told reporters after inspecting the site.

At least one of the injured was in serious condition, according to Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu.

Yerlikaya said earlier on Tuesday the blaze broke out overnight in the hotel's restaurant in Kartalkaya, in the country's northwest.

The governor of Bolu province, where the resort is located, told state-run news agency Anadolu that two of the victims died after jumping out of the building in panic.

According to Bolu Governor Abdulaziz Aydın, the hotel had 234 guests at the time of the accident.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

NTV suggested that the wooden cladding on the hotel's exterior may have accelerated the spread of the fire.

Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Köroğlu mountains, some 300 kilometres east of Istanbul.

The blaze occurred during the school winter break when hotels in the region are packed.

The governor's office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.

MA/6354306