29.01.2025 19:00
Witnesses of the fire disaster in Bolu, which claimed the lives of 78 people, continue to recount the horrifying night. Erman Acar, who works at another hotel in the area, said, "I grabbed the medical student by the arm and told him, 'Don't go in, there's smoke, you'll get poisoned.' They didn't listen to me and went straight inside. I wish I could have stopped them, wish I could have shielded them. We couldn't save them; it's a shame for the young kids."
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In the hotel fire at Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Resort, where 78 people lost their lives, a person who tried to rescue the guests recounted their experiences.
"GRAND KARTAL HOTEL IS ON FIRE"
Erman Acar (42), who worked in the kitchen of another hotel in the area, stated that they went to the hotel staff canteen around 02:00 on the night of the incident, and while they were drinking tea, a friend came in around 02:40 and said, "Grand Kartal Hotel is on fire." He mentioned that they initially thought it was a small fire.
"I HEARD THE SCREAMS OF PEOPLE AND CHILDREN FROM THE WINDOWS"
Upon hearing that the fire was large, they rushed out and ran to the area where the hotel was located, Acar continued: "When I first arrived, I heard the screams of people and children from the windows. Smoke was coming out of the attic. I said, 'Let me enter from the reception, let's save the people,' but we couldn't get in because there was too much smoke.
A FATHER'S CRY FROM THE WINDOW
The fire broke out around 02:40, not at 03:30. We were there around 03:15, and the back was already burning completely. A father came out to the window. Smoke was starting to come out of his room's window. He said, 'I can feel the fire on my feet.' At that moment, the fire brigade arrived. I stepped in front of the fire truck, directed them that way, and we rescued him with a ladder." Acar later recounted that they shouted to the people on the third, fourth, and fifth floors, "Throw your beds to the ground, spread them out, you can jump, don't fall hard." He explained that some people broke the window frames and threw their beds out. Some jumped, and they carried them to the ambulance. They entered from the reception, thinking there might be people who fainted due to the heavy smoke. They encountered 1-2 people who had fainted and managed to get them out.
"AS LONG AS I SEE THIS HOTEL, I WON'T COME BACK HERE"
Acar mentioned that a medical student and a young man he thought was an architect were trying to intervene with those attempting to jump from the roof, saying, "May God bless them thousands of times. They saved 1-2 people. They tried to hold those who jumped in their arms. In the end, they thought they could save those on the fifth and sixth floors before the smoke came out, and I even grabbed the medical student by the arm, saying, 'Don't go in, there's smoke, you'll get poisoned.' They didn't listen to me and directly rushed inside. I wish I could have stopped them, I wish I could have shielded them. We couldn't save them; it's a pity for the young kids." Acar stated that he does not plan to return to Kartalkaya, saying, "As long as I see this hotel, I won't come back here. I wish we could have saved more lives. This was all we could do."
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