Nearly half of victims were children in Bolu ski resort fire

BOLU

Thirty-six of the 78 people killed in the hotel fire in the northwestern province of Bolu were children amid the two-week semester break in Türkiye, local media has reported.

The fire, which broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya on Jan. 21, has sent shockwaves through the country, with the severe negligence that contributed to the high death toll continuing to dominate headlines.

As the identities of the victims were revealed, the media reported that 36 of those who died in the blaze were under the age of 18.

The tragedy coincided with Türkiye’s two-week school break, which led to a high occupancy rate at popular vacation resorts, many of which were fully booked.

Most of the children were either elementary or middle school-aged.

Nearly every family in the hotel lost at least one child, as discussions surrounding negligence and oversight continue to intensify.

The tragedy has impacted at least 30 families, with some spending the winter holiday together tragically losing their lives. Many schools attended by the victims have issued statements of condolence.

In the capital Ankara, classmates and teachers gathered to bid farewell to 12-year-old Ayse Maya Doğan and her parents, Ayşemin Elif Doğan and Mehmet Cem Doğan, leaving a note on her coffin that read: “Our dear girl. We love you very much. We will never forget you. You will always be sitting in our classroom.”

Similarly, Alya Altın, a 4th-grade student and her mother Kübra Tonguç Altın from the western city of İzmir, died during their holiday.

Fenerbahçe Sports Club mourned the death of 15-year-old swimmer Vedia Nil Apak and her mother, Ferda Apak.

Discussions surrounded the absence of functioning fire detectors, emergency staircases or firefighting equipment within the facility.

Another major issue raised was the lack of a firefighting unit in the area, which is an hour away from the nearest station despite being home to numerous hotels and hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

An official report has revealed that firefighters intervened 56 minutes after the first emergency call in the deadly fire.

The fire department’s report, completed late on Jan. 23, highlighted the significant delay in response. The blaze was reported at 3:30 a.m. and firefighters reached the scene and began intervention at 4:24 a.m.

Firefighters used a ladder truck to evacuate over 50 people trapped in their rooms via windows on the building's front facade. Local media footage showed desperate guests tying bed sheets together to rappel down from their windows.

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced that the number of individuals detained in connection with the incident increased to 12, including a retired architect apprehended in Istanbul.

Eyes have turned toward fire safety measures at other ski resorts across the country.

Out of 16 ski centers nationwide, only three — Erciyes in Kayseri, Uludağ in Bursa and Yedikuyular in Kahramanmaraş — are equipped with on-site firefighting services.

Authorities have assigned six prosecutors to investigate the cause of the fire, which appeared to have started in the restaurant section on the fourth floor of the wooden-clad hotel and spread quickly through to the upper floors.