The tragedy in the popular Turkish ski resort of Kartalkaya (in northwestern Turkey), in which 76 people died according to the latest data, including many children, is the leading topic of the Turkish press this morning, BTA writes.
The fire broke out shortly before 3:30 a.m. on the night of Monday to Tuesday, quickly engulfing the multi-story building, as the facade of the four-star hotel “Grand Kartal“ in the Alpine style is wooden.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who arrived in Kartalkaya with several other ministers, announced late last night that the total number of people killed in the fire is 76 and the injured are 51.
Nine people, including the hotel owner, have been detained so far.
„76 victims due to gross negligence“ („Hüriyet“), „Hotel of horror“ („Türkiye“), „Great tragedy“ („Cumhuriyet‘), “Who will pay for the tragedy? Our hearts burned because of the fire in the Kartalkaya hotel“ („Sözcu“), “Indescribable Pain“ („Yeni Şafak“), “76 Victims in a Hotel Where a Night Costs 32,000 Turkish Liras“ („Milliyet“), “Tragedy in Bolu“ („Yeni Birlik“). These are some of the headlines of the leading Turkish publications in connection with the tragedy, placed on their front pages this morning.
The newspapers note that today has been declared a day of national mourning by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Entire families have died in the tragedy. Among the victims are many famous personalities, including the journalist from the „Sözcu“ Nedim Turkmen (as well as his wife and their two children), the Dean of the Faculty of Business at Özyeğin University (Istanbul) Prof. Dr. Atakan Yalçın (and his daughter), the young swimmer from „Fenerbahçe“ Vedia Nil Apak (and her mother), the former athlete from „Galatasaray“ Mehmet Cem Doğan (his wife and daughter), the employee of the Turkish national airline „Turkish Airlines“ Zehra Gültekin (along with her husband and their three children).
V. „Cumhuriyet“ indicates that a total of 14 people from Zehra Gültekin's family died in the hotel tragedy.
V. „Hüriyet“ writes that the causes of the tragedy are probably a “chain of negligence“. The publication states that according to witnesses, the fire and smoke alarm sensors did not work, and that the emergency stairs in the hotel were not up to standards.
“Because of this chain of negligence, we lost 76 people and Turkey sank into grief and tears“, states “Hürriyet“.
The publication says that there were a total of 238 people in the hotel. Among the guests were many families with children because of the winter vacation for schoolchildren and students. It was established that the fire started at 3:21 a.m. The alarms did not go off. While the flames engulfed the hotel, many people continued to sleep. Guests who tried to escape were blocked by flames and smoke and could not find an emergency exit. Some died by jumping out of windows.
„Hüriyet“ also notes that there was no fire brigade in the Kartalkaya resort (in the Bolu district, bordering the Ankara district – author's note). The first fire engine managed to arrive 45 minutes after the fire started.
The work of extinguishing the flames took ten hours. The teams that entered the rooms encountered terrible sights – many guests were not even able to leave their rooms, dying of suffocation or burning alive. Among the dead are many children, writes „Hürriyet“.
„Millet“ reports in a front-page headline how people trapped by the fire tried to save themselves by making improvised ropes from sheets to escape from their rooms on high floors.
V. "Sabah" quotes Ömer Sarı, who managed to save himself and his family (his wife and their four children). They all managed to descend from the eighth to the third floor of the hotel with a rope made of sheets.
Turkish publications quote the Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, who also arrived in Kartalkaya yesterday. He pointed out that in 2021 and 2024 audits were carried out for the classification of the hotel and after these audits fire safety licenses were obtained.
However, Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan leveled accusations at the Ministry of Tourism and in particular Minister Ersoy, accusing him of lying.
The pro-government daily Yeni Akit wrote that apparently many irregularities regarding the fire safety of the Grand Kartal Hotel were committed within the mandate and with the approval of Mayor Özcan, who is from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
The daily Milliyet reported on its front page that a night in the "horror hotel" costs 32 thousand Turkish liras (about 1,700 leva).