Yesterday was marked by one of the deadliest hotel fires in Turkey's history. The tragedy coincided with the winter vacation of students, when many families go skiing in the popular Kartalkaya resort, BTA reports.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened that those responsible for negligence in the fire would be brought to justice and declared today a day of national mourning in the country and in diplomatic missions abroad. The flags of institutions in Turkey, as well as in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara, were lowered to half-mast today.
Last night, the number of victims increased by another ten people. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 76 people had died and 51 were injured.
The victims included Fenerbahçe SK swimming star Vedia Nil Opak and prominent journalist and commentator for the opposition newspaper "Sözcü" Nedim Türkmen. 14 people from one family also died in the fire.
Police have made new arrests. Four people were initially detained, including hotel owners Halil Ergül and Emine Ergül, the daughter and son-in-law of businessman Mazhar Murtezaoğlu, who died in 2019. Five more people were arrested later last night, bringing the total number of people arrested to nine.
Kartalkaya is the oldest and most popular mountain resort in the region, which operates year-round and as a ski center in winter. It is about 280 km from Istanbul and 190 km from Ankara.
The largest hotel in the resort is the four-star Grand Hotel Kartal, where the tragedy took place. The hotel opened in 2007. The 12-story building is built entirely of wood in an Alpine style and was the emblem of the resort.
After nearly 10 hours of fighting, the fire was brought under control, but left behind 76 victims, dozens of blackened families and many question marks, the main one of which is whether the real culprits of the tragedy will receive the punishment they deserve.