Turkey hotel blast kills one, injures four

A woman was killed and four other people were injured in an apparent accidental gas explosion at a hotel in the southern Turkish…

A woman was killed and four other people were injured in an apparent accidental gas explosion at a hotel in the southern Turkish resort of Alanya today.

A website report had said the blast was caused by a bomb, reviving security concerns ahead of a visit by US President George Bush to Turkey after he leaves Co Clare this afternoon.

Mr Bush is due to attend a NATO summit in Istanbul on Monday and Tuesday.

Alanya official Mr Gunhan Sarikaya said the dead woman was a Turkish citizen who lived abroad and was holidaying on the Mediterranean coast at the Hatipoglu Hotel, about 350 miles from Istanbul.

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Mr Sarikaya said the blast was caused by a build-up of gas in the hotel's air-conditioning system.

A series of bombings ahead of the NATO summit has caused jitters in Turkey, with confusion surrounding some of the blast reports. Local television stations said yesterday authorities had destroyed a small bomb at Istanbul airport.

An airport official said investigators had not found evidence of a bomb.

Bush and more than 40 other world leaders are set to attend the summit in Turkey's largest city on Monday and Tuesday.