At least 10 people were killed and 32 injured on Tuesday after a fire broke out at a hotel in a ski resort in western Turkey, authorities said.

The fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu province occurred during the winter holidays for schools across the country, a time when families flock to ski resorts and other vacation spots.

According to media reports, the fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. local time, when most of the residents were asleep. In an effort to evacuate, some residents strung sheets to make a rope to descend to the lower floor, a video clip is shown.

The cause of the fire was not clear.

Television footage showed smoke billowing from the building framed by snow-capped mountains. Dozens of rescuers and fire trucks were dispatched from surrounding towns.

“When I came out of my room I saw flames on the fourth floor, the restaurant floor,” Necmi Kepcetutan, a ski instructor who also worked at the hotel, told NTV. “Then it started swarming around the hotel. We helped about a dozen or more people to evacuate because we know the hotel very well.”

He added that he could not reach some students because the smoke was too strong. “People were screaming to be saved,” he told the television station.