British pensioners tell how they feel ‘lucky to be alive’ after escaping horrific blaze at their hotel during a holiday in Turkey. They didn’t think they would make it back to the UK in one piece
Daniel and Christine Steel, who are both nearly 70, had been enjoying a break at a five-star resort in Turkey when a terrifying fire broke out.
The pensioners were among six people taken to hospital for smoke inhalation and Daniel said at one point during the nightmare, he phoned his daughter because he didn’t think they’d be coming home alive.
Daniel from Bradford told his local paper the Telegraph & Argus: “We feel lucky to be alive. We were woken up after hearing screams of ‘fire, fire’ and ‘help, help!’ Our room became dense with smoke – we couldn’t breathe.
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“We were on the top floor and had to make a decision about what to do. Put it this way, if it wasn’t for the balcony, we wouldn’t be here now telling you this story. Below us was a 250ft drop and it was pitch black – all the electricity went off because of the fire.”
The couple climbed over the balcony rails onto a roof and held onto the rails for ‘dear life’. But pensioner Daniel pulled a nerve in his leg and is still in a lot of pain.
“Most of the hotel was evacuated but we came across some other guests who found themselves in the same position as us,” he continued. “At that point, there were 11 of us screaming for help. We were eventually rescued by firefighters after what felt like a lifetime.”
After leaving hospital, they were moved to alternative accommodation before later returning to the hotel to collect their belongings.
But Daniel said all their holiday things were ruined. And although the couple are glad to be back home, Christine is still struggling to forget about their hellish experience.
She added: “We keep reliving what happened – and thinking what might have happened if we hadn’t had a balcony. It was certainly a holiday from hell – but we’re grateful to be alive.”
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