Eleven killed by fire at resort hotel in Georgia

Eleven people have been killed by a fire which ripped through an upmarket hotel in a Black Sea resort town in Georgia.

A total of 21 others, including three fire fighters, were injured in the blaze at the 22-storey Leogrand hotel and casino in Batumi.

The fire erupted late on Friday evening as the hotel hosted a dinner for participants in the Miss Georgia 2017 beauty pageant, Russia's TASS news agency quoted the Georgian Interior Ministry as saying.

Local reports suggested the blaze may have begun in the hotel's spa before spreading.

The identities or nationalities of the dead have not yet been made public. Those injured included one Israeli and 12 Turkish nationals.

Around 120 other guests escaped, with some evacuated using cherry pickers and ladders.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.