Turkish prosecutors hand 11 people life sentences over ski resort blaze

In January, a fire that killed 78 people at a hotel in a ski resort in northwest Turkiye’s Bolu mountains resulted in the sentence of 11 people to life in prison by a Turkish court.

According to state-run broadcaster TRT Haber, Halit Ergul, the owner of the Grand Kartal Hotel, is one of the 14 people who received sentences on Friday.

Emine Ergul’s wife, Emine, and their daughters, Elif Aras and Ceyda Hacibekiroglu, both of whom were members of the hotel’s management team, were also sentenced.

The Grand Kartal restaurant, where 238 guests were staying overnight, quickly caught fire and exploded with flames on January 21.

During the fire, which took place during the school holidays when many families from Istanbul and Ankara traveled to the Bolu mountains to ski, 34 children were killed.

In the middle of the night, hotel guests who were in panic were forced to jump from windows, injuring another 137 people.

The hotel’s general manager, Emir Aras, as well as Sedat Gulener, Bolu’s deputy mayor, and Ahmet Demir, the hotel’s director, were reportedly on the board of directors of the business that owned the Grand Kartal.

According to TRT, the trial has 32 defendants in total, with 20 of whom are currently awaiting trial. The remaining defendants’ court appearance date is unknown.

The 34 children who perished in the disaster received 34 aggravated life sentences overall. Applause filled the courtroom as it was made public.

After survivors claimed no fire alarms went off during the incident and that they had to navigate smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness, questions were raised about safety measures in place at the hotel.

The government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation while Turkish authorities quickly made nine arrests for the blaze.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya made the promise to those “responsible for this pain will not escape justice” when speaking to reporters outside the still-smoking hotel.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, made the announcement that a day of national mourning was coming as a pallbearer at a victim’s funeral service the following day.