Turkish court sentences hotel owner and 10 others to life for deadly fire that killed 78

Published on 31/10/2025 - 14:32 GMT+1

A Turkish tribunal sentenced nan proprietor of a skis edifice hotel and 10 others to life successful situation connected Friday aft convicting them of terrible negligence successful relationship pinch a deadly occurrence that swept done nan property, nan state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The blaze collapsed retired astatine nan 12-storey Grand Karta Hotel astatine nan Kartalkaya skis edifice successful nan state of Bolu connected 21 January during nan wintertime schoolhouse break, sidesplitting 78 group and injuring 133 others.

A full of 34 children taking family holidays were among nan victims.

The tribunal convicted edifice proprietor Halit Ergül, on pinch his wife, 2 daughters, edifice managers, a lawman politician and a lawman occurrence main of negligence pinch "probable intent to kill."

They were each sentenced to life imprisonment for nan deaths of nan children and received an further 25 years successful situation for nan 44 different fatalities.

The defendants, who person rejected work for nan deaths, were expected to entreaty nan decision. The courtroom collapsed into applause aft nan verdicts were read, pinch families welcoming nan sentence, nan Habertürk news transmission reported.

The disaster forced terrified guests and edifice unit to leap from windows aliases dangle bedsheets to flight rooms engulfed successful fume and flames.

It sent shockwaves crossed Turkey, sparking wide calls for accountability complete negligence and information violations.

Family members and friends of nan victims staged demonstrations extracurricular nan tribunal during each hearing, holding up posters of their loved ones and demanding justice.

According to nan indictment, nan occurrence began astatine 3:17 americium erstwhile a spark from an electrical grill ignited a garbage bin and ruptured a liquefied petroleum state hose, triggering nan blaze.

Staff noticed nan flames 7 minutes later, but wrong 2 minutes, nan occurrence had dispersed beyond control. Air from an unfastened doorway accelerated nan flames, which quickly engulfed nan woody ceiling.

Poor information measures, including deficiency of fume extraction, faulty alarms, inadequate unit training and missing sprinkler systems, allowed fumes to capable precocious floors.

Stairwells and elevator shafts acted for illustration chimneys and nan absence of emergency lighting, signage and replacement exits prevented nan safe removal of nan hotel’s 238 guests, nan indictment said.

The edifice first opened successful 1999 and had been operated by Ergül’s institution since 2007.