A tragic fire broke out at a deserted ski resort hotel in northwest Turkey, claiming the lives of an Olympic skier and his father on Thursday. This comes just a couple of months following another devastating fire at a Turkish winter resort that resulted in the loss of 79 lives.
The victims of this fire were identified as Yahya Usta, the president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association, and his 25-year-old son Berkin Usta. Berkin had represented Turkey in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games as a skier. Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak expressed deep sorrow over the loss of the national athlete and his father.
The blaze occurred at the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Bursa province, around 5:30 a.m. Fortunately, the hotel was void of guests at the time. However, 12 staff members were present when the fire ignited. A number of people were treated for smoke inhalation and required hospitalization.
Yahya Usta, his son, and his wife, who survived the ordeal, were located on the fifth floor of the hotel. The authorities have not disclosed the reason for their stay, nor whether any of them were part of the hotel’s staff.
The fire reportedly started in the hotel cafeteria, according to Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey. An investigation has been initiated by prosecutors, and in response, the state-run Anadolu Agency disclosed the detention of the hotel’s manager.
The hotel, a 30-year-old establishment, had been closed since early January following the cancellation of its accommodation permit, as recorded by the governor’s office. Television coverage depicted how the fire rapidly engulfed the six-story building, located on the slopes of one of Turkey’s favored ski destinations, within three hours from Istanbul.
Firefighters managed to bring the inferno under control in a span of two hours, though not before the higher floors had been completely destroyed.
In January, another tragic incident occurred when a separate 12-story ski resort hotel in northwestern Turkey caught fire during a school holiday, leaving 79 casualties in its wake. This incident at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains, similarly began in the dining area.
New developments have emerged regarding the Bolu fire, with Anadolu reporting additional arrests as of Wednesday, bringing the total number of individuals detained and awaiting trial to 28.