23.01.2025 15:13
In the hotel fire in Bolu Kartalkaya, it was revealed that intern doctor Yiğit Gençbay and his friend, mechanical engineer Alp Mercan, managed to escape from the flames but went back inside to rescue those who were trapped, ultimately losing their lives. The heroic friends were laid to rest amid tears.
One of Turkey's important ski centers, the fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya, which claimed the lives of 78 people, has left everyone in mourning. While the identities of those who died in the fire have been revealed, another painful detail has emerged.
THEY RAN OUT AT THE FIRST MOMENT OF THE FIRE
The son of the President of the Council of State's 9th Chamber, Abdurrahman Gençbay, and a final-year medical student at Başkent University, intern doctor Yiğit Gençbay (25), along with his friend Alp Mercan (25), who works as a mechanical engineer at a private company, went to the Kartalkaya Ski Center in Bolu for a ski holiday. Friends since high school, Gençbay and Mercan, who were staying in the same room on the 2nd floor of the 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel, woke up during the fire. Quickly moving through the smoke, Gençbay and Mercan exited the building and called their ski instructors to inform them that they were safe.
THEY ENTERED THE HOTEL AGAIN FOR HELP
However, upon hearing cries for help from the hotel, Gençbay and Mercan decided to go back inside to save lives. The two friends were later reported missing after entering the flames. After the fire was extinguished, the lifeless bodies of the two friends were found.
HEROIC FRIENDS BURIED IN TEARS
The funerals of the two friends were handed over to their families after identification at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institution. Yiğit Gençbay's funeral was buried yesterday after the afternoon prayer at İncek Cemetery. A ceremony was also held today at the Gölbaşı Cemetery Mosque for Mercan. The ceremony was attended by Mercan's family and relatives, as well as Deputy Minister of Interior Bülent Turan, AK Party Ankara MP Zeynep Yıldız, and many citizens. Mercan's body was buried in tears after the funeral prayer at Gölbaşı Cemetery.
"MARTYRDOM SUITED BOTH OF THEM VERY WELL"
Alp Mercan's sister, Nihan Ece Mercan, stated, "Yiğit and Alp told the ski instructors, 'We are safe, our room number is this, don't worry about us.' While they were trying to find their own students, they created a list and marked 'safe' for Alp and Yiğit. Alp was an engineer, and Yiğit was a doctor. But when the cries came, they went back inside; my dear ones never came out again. They were not on any list; in fact, when we heard they were safe, we called the hospitals. The mountains were searched. Yiğit and Alp were truly characters that matched their names. Martyrdom suited both of them very well. They had never been apart since high school. They went to martyrdom together. They had gone on vacation; they were supposed to check out that morning," she expressed.
"THEY ENTER THE BUILDING AGAIN IN HOPES OF SAVING SOMEONE"
On the other hand, AK Party Ankara MP Zeynep Yıldız stated in a social media post that Alp Mercan was the brother of a very dear friend from university, saying, "Gençbay and Mercan are escaping safely, but they enter the building again in hopes of saving someone. May God honor their heroism with the rank of martyrdom."