Georgia fire: 11 Killed in hotel blaze at Black Sea resort, officials say

Eleven people have died and 21 others hurt in a fire at a luxury hotel in the Georgian Black Sea resort city of Batumi, officials said.

The fire erupted at the Leogrand Hotel, 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 after the blaze broke out late on Friday evening, it added.

At least 100 other guests and employees also escaped.

The ministry reported that among the 21 injured there was one Israeli and 12 Turkish nationals.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.