A fire at a luxury hotel in the Georgian Black Sea resort city of Batumi left 11 people dead and 21 others hurt, officials said Saturday. 

The fire erupted late Friday evening at the Leogrand Hotel and Casino where participants in the Miss Georgia 2017 beauty pageant were having dinner, Russia’s TASS news agency quoted the Georgian Interior Ministry as saying.  

All 20 participants escaped unhurt using a fire escape ladder, it said. At least 100 other guests and employees also escaped.  

Eleven people died and 21 were injured, the ministry reported. Those hurt included one Israeli and 12 Turkish nationals.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. 
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