Four people, among them the owner of the Grand Kartal hotel, are being held after , in Bolu province of , Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced.
Besides, the Turkish president pledged during his speech at the 8th Regular Provincial Congress of the AK Party in Ankara, that responsibilities will be assigned for , while he declared national mourning.
Specifically, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Unfortunately, we received very sad news this morning. We had brothers who died and were injured. I wish God’s mercy to those who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to the injured. We have sent our ministers to the scene to coordinate the necessary actions, while an administrative and judicial investigation into the cause has already begun, in order to hold those behind responsible.”
Immediately after the conclusion of the meeting of the Presidential Council of Ministers, Erdogan announced that “in order to share the pain of these brothers of ours, a day of national mourning is declared”.
Three ministers in Kartalkaya
At the scene of the fire are Interior Minister Ali Gerlikaya, Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu and Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
In the meantime, the Minister of Justice Yilmaz Tunds noted that “a judicial investigation has been launched by the General Prosecutor’s Office of Bolu regarding the fire and six prosecutors have been appointed. In addition, a five-member expert committee was meticulously formed to expand the survey.
At the same time, the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Vedat Isikhan, added: “Four inspectors have been assigned to investigate the tragic incident as quickly as possible.”
The fire broke out in the middle of the night at the luxury 12-story hotel, killing 66 people and injuring 51, according to the latest tally from authorities in the popular winter tourism destination, about 300 km west of Istanbul and 180 km from Ankara. One of the injured is hospitalized in critical condition in an intensive care unit, while 17 have been discharged.
When the fire broke out, most of the hotel’s customers were in their rooms and the flames found them sleeping, which is estimated to have increased the number of victims.
The causes of the tragedy are not yet known. It is possible that it is due to a gas leak or a short circuit. The first estimates indicate that the fire started from the hotel’s restaurant area.
In the meantime, Turkey’s Supreme Radio and Television Council has imposed a media ban on information related to the fire.
In the images shown, it appears that the fire spread in a short period of time, completely destroying the hotel, which had wooden paneling on its walls. Authorities have warned of the risk of the building collapsing.
According to complaints, the hotel did not have a water fire extinguishing system that is automatically activated in case of fire and the alarm did not sound. The initial information that it did not even have external escape stairs in case of fire was denied by the Minister of Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, who cited a relevant certificate from the Fire Service.
REUTERS/Murad Sezer
According to CNN Turk’s report, the hotel has a fire safety certification, which is issued by the Fire Department, which is also the competent Authority. Until today, there were no reports on the fire safety of the facility, where there are actually two fire extinguishers inside the hotel.
The hotel’s classification inspections were carried out in 2021 and 2024 and during these inspections the operating license and fire safety certification license were checked.
However, it is complained that there is no fire station in Kartalkaya, which is one of the most important ski resorts, relatively close to Istanbul and Ankara. The nearest Fire Service station is one hour and 15 minutes away.
Condolence messages from Athens
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his deep sorrow for the loss of life in the fire at a ski resort in Turkey. In a post in English on X (formerly Twitter), he also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
Mr. Mitsotakis specifically stated:
“Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in the ski resort fire in Bolu, Turkey. On behalf of Greece, I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”
Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives in the ski resort fire in Bolu, Turkey. On behalf of Greece, I extend heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wish a swift recovery to the injured.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR)
“It is with deep sadness that we learned of the news of the fire and the tragic death toll in Bolu, Turkey,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in its own post on X (formerly twitter). “We express our deepest condolences to the grieving families and wish a speedy and full recovery to all those injured,” he adds.
Profoundly saddened by the news of the terrible fire and the tragic death toll in Bolu, .
We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy and full recovery to all those injured.— Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@GreeceMFA)
