ISTANBUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A fire at a closed ski resort hotel in northwestern Türkiye earlier Thursday killed four people, including a champion skier and his instructor father, two months after a major ski resort fire killed 78 in the country.

According to a statement by the Bursa Governor's Office, the incident, which occurred in the Uludag ski resort in Bursa province around 5:30 a.m. local time (0230 GMT), killed Yahya Usta, President of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Instructors Association, his 24-year-old son Berkin Usta, a national skier and World Alpine Champion, and two staff members of the hotel.

The office said 12 staff members were inside the hotel when the fire broke out, two of whom were killed, and one was in critical condition.

The Turkish Ski Federation issued a condolence message and stated that Yahya Usta's wife was injured.

Multiple media reports said that the fire, which started in the cafe-restaurant section of the hotel, quickly spread to all floors and engulfed the entire building.

Earlier in the day, Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey said in a live broadcast on NTV that preliminary reports indicated four people were inside the hotel during the fire.

One of them was killed, and three others, reportedly a ski instructor, his wife and their son, were affected by the thick smoke and later taken to the hospital in an unconscious state, said Bozbey.

The hotel had been closed and previously evacuated due to the expiration of its accommodation certificate, which had not been renewed.

The fire has been brought under control, and an investigation has been launched, according to NTV.

This incident followed a major hotel fire in January at Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, which killed 78 people and injured over 50. Since then, authorities have intensified inspections of hotels nationwide. Enditem

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