Wildfire Sets Off Landmines Around Iran's Evin Prison

Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
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Wildfire Sets Off Landmines Around Iran's Evin Prison

Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

Iran's judiciary said that a wildfire caused by very hot weather flared for a short time on Friday in the grasslands surrounding Evin prison, detonating landmines in a security area around the facility, according to Reuters.

The judiciary's Mizan news agency reported that the fire, which lasted only "a few minutes," was immediately controlled, and no damage was caused to the prison facilities.

The agency added, "The fire spread to the protected hills around Evin Prison and caused several mines to explode."

The agency did not mention any human casualties or details about the type of landmines.



At Least 10 Dead, 32 Injured in a Hotel Fire at a Ski Resort in Northwestern Türkiye

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, in northwest Türkiye, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (IHA via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS]
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, in northwest Türkiye, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (IHA via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS]
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At Least 10 Dead, 32 Injured in a Hotel Fire at a Ski Resort in Northwestern Türkiye

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, in northwest Türkiye, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (IHA via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS]
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, in northwest Türkiye, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (IHA via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS]

A fire at a hotel at a ski resort in northwestern Türkiye on Tuesday killed at least 10 people and hospitalized 32 others, officials said.
The fire broke out at around 3:30 a.m. in the restaurant of the 12-story Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, officials and reports said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Two of the victims died after jumping from the building in a panic, Gov. Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency. Private NTV television said some people tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets, The Associated Press said.
There were 234 guests staying at the hotel, Aydin said.
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.
He said the hotel was engulfed in smoke, making it difficult for guests to locate the fire escape.
“I cannot reach some of my students. I hope they are OK,” the ski instructor told the station.
Television images showed the roof and top floors of the hotel on fire.
The government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the fire. NTV television suggested that the wooden cladding on the exterior of the hotel, in a chalet-style design, may have accelerated the spread of the fire.
The 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff, hampering efforts to combat the flames, the station also reported.
Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during the school semester break when hotels in the region are packed.
Aydin's office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.
Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution and guests were placed in hotels around Bolu.