Turkish court hands life sentences to 11 over ski resort fire

A Turkish court has sentenced the owner of the Grand Kartal Hotel and 10 others to life in prison for severe negligence over a fire that tore through the 12-story ski resort in Bolu’s Kartalkaya.

The blaze hit the 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel at the Kartalkaya ski resort in the province of Bolu on January 21, killing 78 people, including 34 children, and injuring 133 others.

The court convicted hotel owner Halit Ergül, along with his wife, two daughters, hotel managers, a deputy mayor and a deputy fire chief of negligence with "probable intent to kill.” They were each sentenced to life imprisonment for the deaths of the children and received an additional 25 years in prison for the 44 other fatalities.

According to the indictment, the fire began at 3:17 a.m. when a spark from an electric grill ignited a garbage bin and ruptured a liquefied petroleum gas hose, triggering the blaze. Staff noticed the flames seven minutes later, but within two minutes, the fire had spread beyond control. Air from an open door accelerated the flames, which quickly engulfed the wooden ceiling.

Poor safety measures allowed fumes to fill upper floors. Stairwells and elevator shafts acted like chimneys, and the absence of emergency lighting, signage and alternative exits prevented the safe evacuation of the hotel’s 238 guests, the indictment said.