A tragedy that occurred in the middle of the winter holidays. Entire families were decimated by the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel which killed at least 76 people in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, in central Turkey. The hotel, whose prices were among the highest of all the ski resorts in the country, welcomed a wealthy clientele, among others: executives, entrepreneurs and renowned doctors.
Most were staying with their children and relatives. The columnist for the Turkish daily Sözcü, Nedim Türkmen, as well as his wife and two children aged 18 and 22 were among the victims. A day of national mourning has been declared this Wednesday. Head of State Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the afternoon funeral of eight relatives of a former deputy from his party, the AKP, in Bolu, 35 km from Kartalkaya.
Many children, whose number has not been officially specified, died during their family vacations, such as the 10-year-old swimmer from the Fenerbahçe swimming club in Istanbul, Vedia Nil Apak, who died with her mother. Or the cousins Kemal and Atlas Kaan Tokcan, 8 and 5 years old, who died with their respective fathers. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than twenty victims had not yet been identified.
-Survivors denounced on Tuesday the absence of a fire alarm and fire doors in the Grand Kartal hotel. Nine people, including the director of the establishment, were arrested as part of the investigation launched by the Ministry of Justice, which assigned six prosecutors to it.
The hotel management presented its condolences and expressed “its sorrow” in a press release published overnight, ensuring “to cooperate with the authorities to shed light on this accident”. According to the Ministry of Tourism, the hotel had been “verified” by the firefighters in 2021 and 2024. But the ministry and municipality pass the responsibility for certifications of compliance with safety standards to each other.
