26.01.2025 09:40
The statement of Halit Ergül, the owner of the Grand Kartal Hotel, which became a grave for 78 people in the fire disaster in Bolu, has emerged. Ergül, who stated that his monthly income was 100,000 lira, placed all the blame for the fire on the employees.
The fire at the 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Resort, which claimed the lives of 78 people around 03:30 on January 21, has plunged all of Turkey into mourning. As part of the investigation launched regarding the fire, 14 people were detained. The owner of the establishment, Halit Ergül, the general manager of the company, Emir Aras, the hotel manager, Zeki Yılmaz, the hotel's accounting manager, Kadir Özdemir, chef Faysal Yaver, electrician Hüseyin Özer, and kitchen staff Mehmet Gündüz, Fidan Kurç, and Yusuf Karahanlı were arrested. Occupational health and safety expert Ece Kayacan was released under judicial control after her statement.
BLAMED ALL THE EMPLOYEES
The statement of hotel owner Halit Ergül at the Bolu 2nd Criminal Court of Peace and the prosecutor's office has emerged. Ergül, who stated that his monthly income was 100,000 lira, particularly blamed the head chef, kitchen staff, the hotel's electrician, and security personnel in his statement. He claimed that the head chef was responsible for the electrical appliances in the kitchen and the materials in the kitchen, that the control of the fire alarm buttons was done by the hotel's electrician, and that the security personnel patrolled 24 hours but did not press the fire alarm. He also mentioned that the consulting company did not inform him that the fire escape was contrary to regulations.
According to information reported by Hürriyet; Halit Ergül said, "The electrical appliances in the kitchen are under the control of the head chef. When something abnormal is seen, the head chef must inform the technician. All kinds of frying are done on the grill in the hotel's kitchen. At night, 4 people are on duty in the Grand Kartal Hotel's kitchen to prepare breakfast. The responsibility for the materials there also belongs to them. I had checked with the electrician whether the fire alarm buttons were working. The hotel's electrician is responsible for the fire alarm buttons. Each department has its own chief. We had an agreement with the private Öz Köroğlu Security company for inspection about 5-6 years ago. This company was mainly conducting security (guarding) inspections. We were receiving security services from this company. We also have our own private security unit. They patrol the hotel 24 hours. They ensure the security of the hotel from all aspects. They press the alarm in case of a fire. They inform us. When there is a health-related problem, they inform the relevant unit. We sign a contract every year with FQC Global Consulting Inc., which is authorized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for inspection purposes. This company comes at least once every two years to inspect the hotel in terms of fire, security, hygiene, and all aspects. After the inspections of the hotels, any deficiencies or problems were presented to us. I was not informed of any deficiencies during the inspections. We were not informed that the hotel's fire escapes were contrary to the relevant regulations. The hotel was built in accordance with the regulations of 2007. The fire department did not conduct an inspection on us. At the same time, the Ministry of Tourism also inspects our hotel," he stated.
INVESTIGATION HAD SPREAD TO HIS SECOND HOTEL
The Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which expanded the investigation, found that the same negligence existed at Halit Ergül's second hotel, Gazelle Resort and Spa Hotel. In the investigation regarding Gazelle Hotel, where the same negligence was found; Grand Hotel accounting staff Cemal Ö. and Mehmet S., Gazelle Resort General Manager Ahmet D., Gazelle Resort technical staff Kadir Ç. and Tahsin P., Grand Kartal Hotel technical staff Murat D., Gürkan O., Bayram U., and Bahadır B., Chairman of the Board of Mudurnu Enerji A.Ş. İbrahim P. and Vice Chairman of the Board of Mudurnu Enerji A.Ş. İsmail K. were detained.
MILLIONS WERE TRANSFERRED TO A TUNNEL
It has emerged that instead of taking precautions, Halit Ergül had a special tunnel built between his two hotels, spending millions of lira. It was stated that the said tunnels provided a safe passage between the restaurants of the two hotels owned by the same owner against the possibility of heavy snowfall and blizzards.
"LET'S NOT WASTE MONEY," HE SAID
Prominent figures in Bolu claimed that Halit Ergül avoided addressing the deficiencies of the hotel due to his greed for profit. It was alleged that when Ergül saw the 8 deficiencies in the fire department report, he said, "It is not possible to address these without stripping the hotel from top to bottom. Now doing these would be a waste. Let's wait for the season to end and then we can undertake a complete renovation."
"I ONLY DID MY JOB"
Electrician Hüseyin Özer stated in his testimony, "I don't know why I gave a statement regarding this incident. I have no connection to the incident. I was not on duty at the time of the incident, and as I mentioned above, I was in Bolu center during the incident. I am just an electrician; my technical manager Tahsin P. is responsible in the electrical field. I only carry out the assigned tasks. I have no fault regarding the incident. I do not accept the accusations against me."