07.07.2025 08:20
In relation to the hotel fire at Kartalkaya Ski Resort, which resulted in the deaths of 78 people and injuries to 133 others, 32 defendants are appearing before the judge for the first time today. Teams are ensuring that no one can enter the courtroom area. A street and four surrounding streets have been closed to vehicle traffic, and the complainants and victims have started to enter the area after undergoing security checks.
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On January 21, 2025, the first hearing of the case regarding the fire that broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel located in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Bolu, which resulted in the death of 78 people and injuries to 133 others, will be held today.
POLICE ARE NOT LETTING ANYONE IN The hearing, which is expected to have a large attendance, will take place in the temporary courtroom set up in the gymnasium of Bolu Social Sciences High School. In order to ensure security, a thousand police officers have been assigned to the area, and as of 9:00 PM yesterday, Karadere Street, Sadıklar Street, Kemençe Street, 4322nd Street, and Dedeyanı Street have been closed to vehicle traffic until the date when the hearings will conclude. Surrounding the courtroom where 32 defendants will appear, teams are effectively not allowing anyone in. As the hearing time approaches, complainants and victims began to enter the area, which has been closed to vehicle traffic, after undergoing security checks.
GYMNASIUM CONVERTED INTO COURTROOM Due to the large number of parties involved, the capacity of the courtrooms in the courthouse was insufficient, so the Bolu Social Sciences High School Gymnasium was converted into a courtroom with a capacity of 700 people. Security cameras were installed in the hall, which had its interior and exterior walls painted. The lighting system in the hall was completely changed, the electrical infrastructure was renewed and connected to a generator system, and a UPS connection was made. In the hall where the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS) infrastructure was established by the General Directorate of Information Technology of the Ministry of Justice, the floor was completely covered with carpet to ensure acoustics. An internet line was drawn for UYAP connection in the hall, which was equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system.
SEPARATE 1998-YEAR SENTENCES REQUESTED FOR EACH LIFE In the 98-page indictment prepared by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and accepted by the 1st Heavy Penal Court, the hotel owners, members of the board of directors, and managers Halit Ergül, Emine Mürtezaoğlu Ergül, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, Elif Aras, Emir Aras, Zeki Yılmaz, Ahmet Demir, Kadir Özdemir, Cemal Özer, Mehmet Salun, as well as Bolu Municipality Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Acting Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun, and firefighter İrfan Acar are facing a total of up to 1998 years in prison for 78 counts of "manslaughter with probable intent" and "intentional injury with probable intent."
The hotel's technical staff Tahsin Pekcan, Hüseyin Özer, and Bayram Ütkü, kitchen staff Reşat Bölük, Enver Öztürk, and Faysal Yaver, occupational safety experts Kübra Demir and Ece Kayacan, reception staff Yiğithan Burak Çetin, officials of Mudurnu Energy Industry and Trade Inc. İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, officials of FQC Global Certification Inc. Ali Ağaoğlu and employee Aleyna Beşinci, LPG installation maintenance staff Doğan Aydın and Muharrem Şen, General Secretary of the Provincial Special Administration Sırrı Köstereli, Deputy General Secretary of the Provincial Special Administration Bünyamin Bal, Director of Licensing and Inspection of the Provincial Special Administration Yeliz Erdoğan, and former Director of Licensing and Inspection of the Provincial Special Administration Mehmet Özel are also facing up to 22 years and 6 months in prison for "causing the death and injury of multiple persons through conscious negligence."
FROM THE INDICTMENT The indictment states that on the night of the incident, four staff members were working in the hotel kitchen to prepare breakfast, and the fire was first noticed at 03:24, with the person who noticed it informing the other staff. It was noted that the gendarmerie was called at 03:26 and the 112 Emergency Call Center was called at 03:27.
The fire started at 03:17 from a small flare-up from the electric grill called "grill plate" located in the restaurant on the fourth floor of the hotel, and the flames spread to a trash can near the "grill plate" at 03:24 and then to the hose supplying LPG, causing the fire to accelerate rapidly as the hose melted and ignited the LPG gas. It was reported that by 03:26, the fire had "exceeded controllable limits" and the color of the flames began to turn blue.
The indictment shares information that the varnished OSB and wooden decorations used in the ceiling rapidly gasified, causing excessive smoke and rapid burning, and that the kitchen staff's leaving the door open to the closed parking lot they used to escape accelerated the fire. It was noted that the inadequacy and faults in the stair and elevator structures, as well as the absence of a gas evacuation system, caused flammable and toxic gases to rise rapidly to the upper floors of the hotel, filling all corridors with toxic smoke and flammable gases.
The indictment also mentions that there was no emergency announcement system in the hotel to alert people in the building by broadcasting automatic live voice messages in case of an emergency, that the fire detection and warning systems did not function properly, that staff were not trained in fire and emergency situations, that fire drills were not conducted, and that necessary interventions could not be made at the time of the incident.
It was stated in the indictment that the hotel's escape stairs, stair and evacuation doors did not possess the required features, that there was no sprinkler system, that the gases produced in the fire used the stairs and elevator as a chimney to reach the upper floors rapidly, that there was no system to provide smoke evacuation from the stairs by natural or mechanical means, that there was no emergency lighting system in the stairs, that there were no fire escape signs and escape directions, and that the lack of alternative exit options for those staying in the hotel made it impossible for customers who were aware of the fire to evacuate safely, quickly, and appropriately.
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Within the framework of legal regulations, the responsibility lies with the building owners and board members Halit Ergül, his wife Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, their daughters Elif Aras and Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, as well as the actual legal managers Emir Aras, Zeki Yılmaz, Ahmet Demir, the authorized representative of the company Kadir Özdemir, and Cemal Özer and Mehmet Salun who acted under his instructions. The indictment indicates that the suspects failed to establish the necessary technical infrastructure within the management and decision-making processes they were involved in.
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