The devastating fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in the city of Bolu, which killed at least 78 people, has shaken the whole of Turkey. Organizations, schools, sports clubs and private individuals are publishing photos of the victims, expressing condolences, but also making serious accusations. A total of 234 guests were accommodated in the popular hotel. Many of them were injured.
Survivors describe dramatic scenes from the night of the fire: many people tried to escape disoriented through smoky corridors, while others jumped out of windows in despair. Some say that guests on higher floors tied improvised ropes from sheets to save themselves by climbing down them.
Unanswered questions and investigations
The cause of the fire is still unclear. Investigators are checking whether a problem with the hotel's fire protection system played a role in the disaster. They are investigating whether prescribed safety measures were followed. Eyewitnesses reported a lack of fire alarms and escape stairs, as well as a lack of fire extinguishers.
The multi-story hotel with solid wood cladding is located on a high and steep slope and is a popular destination for local tourists. Experts also ask why a fire station was not built near the resort and why it took emergency services 45 minutes to reach the scene.
Serious accusations from the opposition
It remains unclear exactly which institution is responsible for the latest safety inspection of the building and who issued the hotel's license. Bolu Mayor Tanyu Özcan from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) points to the Ministry of Tourism as responsible. According to him, the city government is not to blame. Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy blames the local fire department.
The CHP accuses the government of weakening fire safety regulations in 2012. The opposition party also criticizes the hotel's lack of a water sprinkler system, which could have slowed the spread of the fire. According to regulations adopted in 2007, a hotel of this size must have such a system.
The deputy chairman of the opposition parliamentary group, Ali Mahir Basarir, is demanding the resignation of the tourism minister. According to him, there is a conflict of interest: the minister is the owner of the large tour operator ETS, which highly rated this particular hotel.
Against this backdrop, Turkey is once again discussing the fact that several ministers continue to work on their private business interests while holding political positions.
Both sides are to blame
Several professional organizations and experts have commented that there were clearly serious problems with the safety system of the Bolu hotel, as well as with its control. According to experts, if the right measures were taken, such tragedies could have been avoided. The high death toll is also due to the failure of the authorities, they say.
Erol Percin of the Turkish Chamber of Engineers and Architects in Bolu believes that if everyone involved had behaved responsibly and complied with regulations, today we would only be talking about financial damages, not lost lives.
Unfortunately, the Bolu hotel fire is not an isolated case. Turkey has faced serious incidents many times in the past - often due to non-compliance with safety standards. Shortly after the Kartalkaya hotel fire, an explosion in the city of Sivas injured four people, one of them seriously.
Last spring, a fire in an Istanbul nightclub killed 29 people. And according to experts, construction defects in the buildings played a key role in the huge damage caused by the devastating earthquakes in February 2023.