15.12.2025 21:50
In the indictment prepared regarding the fire at the factory in Dilovası, Kocaeli, which resulted in the deaths of 7 workers, the survivors and the relatives of the deceased shared their accounts of the chain of negligence and their experiences. Metin Gülek, the husband of one of the deceased, Hanım Gülek, stated in his testimony that the municipal officials who came to the workplace were welcomed by the factory owner, Kurtuluş Oransal, and that some of the officials were given the factory's highest quality products as gifts, as he heard from his wife.
A fire broke out at a cosmetics factory located in the Dilovası district of Kocaeli on November 8 at around 09:00. In the fire, Şengül Yılmaz (55), Tuğba Taşdemir (18), Nisa Taşdemir (17), Cansu Esetoğlu (16), Esma Gikan (65), Hanım Gülek (65), and Tuncay Yıldız (48) lost their lives.
7 SUSPECTS, INCLUDING THE COMPANY OWNER, ARRESTED
As part of the investigation, 11 suspects were detained, including company owner Kurtuluş Oransal, company officials İsmail Oransal, Altay Ali Oransal, Aleyna Oransal, and Gökberk Güngör, who were arrested on charges of 'intentional homicide'. Ali Osman Akat and Onay Yürüklü were arrested on charges of 'aiding a criminal'. Suspects G. B., H. E., Ö. A., and Güven Demirbaş were released under judicial control. Kurtuluş Oransal, the factory owner, who suffered a heart attack in prison on November 30 and was taken to Kocaeli City Hospital, also passed away.
MANY NAMES SUSPENDED
Additionally, as part of the investigation conducted by the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Ünal Aslan, the Responsible Manager of the Joint Health and Safety Unit (OSGB), and Güven Demirbaş, the property owner who rented the factory building to the cosmetics company, were detained. After their procedures at the police station, the suspects were sent to court and arrested. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security announced that the Kocaeli Provincial Director of the Social Security Institution (SGK), the Deputy Provincial Director of SGK Kocaeli, the Director of the Gebze Social Security Center, the Provincial Director of the Employment and Workforce Agency Kocaeli, the Director of the İŞKUR Dilovası Service Center, the Branch Manager responsible for İŞKUR CİMER, and one staff member were suspended. Additionally, Necati Temiz, the Deputy Mayor of Dilovası, along with Zabıta Director Nizamettin Balcı and zabıta officers Cengiz Taşdemir, Ömer Kocabay, and Tekin İlaslan were also suspended.
4 DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH 'INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE', 8 DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH 'CONSCIOUS NEGLIGENCE'
In the 91-page indictment prepared by the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, İsmail Oransal, Altay Ali Oransal, Aleyna Oransal, and Gökberk Güngör were charged with 'intentional homicide' and faced life sentences for each of the 7 counts, while they also faced 3 counts of 'causing damage to property' with prison sentences ranging from 6 months to 4 years. For 8 defendants charged with 'causing death and injury through conscious negligence', a sentence of up to 22 years and 6 months was requested, while 4 defendants charged with 'aiding a criminal' faced up to 5 years in prison. The indictment also requested prosecution for Ümit Çelik, Ünal Arslan, Muhammet Dayıoğlu, Seyfullah Çelik, Güven Demirbaş, Caner Özgür Yıldırım, Özcan Yıldırım, and Özkan Yıldırım for 'causing death and injury through conscious negligence', and for Ali Osman Akat, Onay Yürüklü, Ömer Aktan, and Abdurrahman Bayat for 'aiding a criminal'.
UNTRAINED, UNSAFE WORKING CONDITIONS
Statements from workers who survived the fire and relatives of the deceased revealed the negligence and events that occurred. Keriman Miskin, who survived the fire and stated that he had been working at the factory for 4 years, mentioned that he had received no training, was not provided with protective clothing, and that there had been no occupational health and safety expert at the workplace until that day. Miskin, who stated that there was no official responsible, said that the insurance inspection had only come once, and during the inspection, the workplace owner Kurtuluş Oransal sent home uninsured workers. He explained that on the day of the incident, a tanker containing chemicals used in perfume production exploded while being mixed by Tuncay Yıldız with an electric mixer, and he survived because he was close to the exit door, while many workers could not escape due to the fire breaking out in the middle of the workplace. He also stated that he saw Tuncay Yıldız coming out while on fire.
NİSANUR IDENTIFIED THROUGH DNA TEST TAKEN FROM HER BROTHER
Vedat Taşdemir, the father of Nisanur Taşdemir, who lost her life in the fire, stated that his daughter had started working for packaging but later learned that she was also employed in production. He mentioned that his daughter was working without insurance and that after the incident, they went to the Forensic Medicine Institution, where it was determined through a DNA sample taken from his son that Nisanur had died in the fire.
SHE WAS WORKING TO SUPPORT HER FAMILY
Aytekin Gikan, the husband of Esma Gikan, a mother of three who lost her life in the fire, stated that his wife was working in the cosmetics factory doing packaging and filling jobs to provide financial support for the family, and that she was employed without insurance and there were no safety measures at the workplace. He learned that his wife was inside during the fire, could not find her name in the hospitals, and later received the news of her death.
THE FACTORY OWNER GAVE GIFTS TO SOME INSPECTORS
Metin Gülek, the husband of Hanım Gülek, one of the deceased, stated that his wife was doing perfume filling for a daily wage of 700 TL and that she was not insured. He mentioned that the inspectors who came to the workplace were welcomed by the workplace owner Kurtuluş Oransal, and that Oransal had given some of the inspectors the factory's best products as gifts, as he heard from his wife.
UNINSURED WORKERS WERE REMOVED DURING INSPECTIONS
Salih Yılmaz, the husband of Şengül Yılmaz, stated that his wife had been working uninsured for 3 years and that uninsured workers were removed during inspections. He expressed that he could not reach his wife on the day of the fire and later learned that she had burned to death at the Forensic Medicine Institution.
STARTED AS PACKAGING, WORKED IN PRODUCTION
İbrahim Esetoğlu, the father of Cansu Esetoğlu, one of the deceased, stated that his daughter started working as packaging personnel but learned after the fire that she was working with chemicals in production, saying that if he had known this, he would not have sent his daughter to work.
SHE WAS SENDING PHOTOS OF THE FACTORY
Nursena Yıldız, the daughter of Tuncay Yıldız who was seriously injured in the fire and passed away 7 days later, stated that her father received his salary in cash and that he was not insured, and that he had sent her photos of the factory before the fire.
CONTROL WAS COMPLETELY IN ORANSAL'S HANDS
Aytül Akat, the ex-wife of factory owner Kurtuluş Oransal, said that the actual control of the workplace was in Oransal's hands, and that he determined everything from hiring personnel to production. Meanwhile, it was learned that the owners of the factory, İsmail and Altay Ali Oransal, exercised their right to remain silent in their statements given as part of the investigation.