07.07.2025 20:10
The confession of the defendant electrician Hüseyin Özer regarding the fire disaster at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya, which claimed the lives of 78 people, revealed how the tragedy occurred. Özer stated in court, "We did not perform maintenance on the fire panel; we were only asked for a video. So, we recorded a video and sent it to the accounting department."
In relation to the fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Resort, 32 defendants, including the hotel owner and municipal officials, appeared before the judge, 19 of whom are in custody.
DEFENDANTS IN COURT IN THE TRAGEDY WHERE 78 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES
In the hearing held in a specially created courtroom in the sports hall of Bolu Social Sciences High School by the Bolu 1st Heavy Penal Court, detained and non-detained defendants, those injured in the fire, relatives of the deceased, and attorneys for the parties attended.
CONFESSION THAT STAMPED THE HEARING
The confession of defendant Hüseyin Özer, who worked as an electrician at the hotel, made a significant impact on the hearing. Özer stated that neither he nor the other technical staff had received occupational safety training and also mentioned that he did not know whether the fire extinguishing and detection systems had been maintained.
"WE DID NOT MAINTAIN THE FIRE PANEL"
Özer noted that he was not informed of any deficiencies and confessed that they did not maintain the fire panel. Özer stated, "We did not maintain the fire panel; only a video was requested. We recorded a video and sent it to the accounting department."
THE FIRE TRAGEDY IN KARTALKAYA
In the fire that broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Resort on January 21, 78 people lost their lives, and 133 people were injured.
In the 98-page indictment prepared by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and accepted by the 1st Heavy Penal Court, hotel owners, board members, 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 1998 years in prison for 78 counts of "intentional killing with probable intent" and "intentional injury with probable intent."
The technical staff of the hotel, Tahsin Pekcan, Hüseyin Özer, and Bayram Ütkü, kitchen staff Reşat Bölük, Enver Öztürk, and Faysal Yaver, occupational safety experts Kübra Demir and Ece Kayacan, receptionist Yiğithan Burak Çetin, officials of Mudurnu Energy Industry and Trade Inc. İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, FQC Global Certification Inc. official 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, Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Director Yeliz Erdoğan, and former Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Director Mehmet Özel are also facing up to 22 years and 6 months in prison for the crime of "causing the death and injury of multiple people with conscious negligence."