Prosecutors seek 1,998 years in jail for suspects in Bolu ski resort fire

BOLU

Prosecutors have sought prison sentences of 1,998 years each for 13 suspects in connection with the massive fire that engulfed a luxury ski resort hotel in northern Türkiye in January, killing 78 people, according to the indictment.

The blaze ripped through the Grand Kartal Hotel at the Kartalkaya ski resort in the early hours of Jan. 21, with the testimony of survivors and experts pointing to safety failures on multiple levels.

According to the indictment, prosecutors in Bolu want the suspects — including the hotel owner, managers, board members, Bolu's deputy mayor, the deputy fire chief and another firefighter — to serve up to 1,998 years in prison on 78 counts of "killing with possible intent."

They also want another 19 people to face jail terms of up to 22 years and six months for "causing death and injuries through conscious negligence," including members of the hotel's technical and kitchen staff, as well as several external maintenance experts.

The indictment also laid out numerous details about the incident and revealed a chain of negligence.

According to the document, 54 of the 78 victims died from carbon monoxide poisoning, 20 were killed in the flames and four lost their lives after jumping from windows in a desperate attempt to escape the blaze.

The indictment further stated that seven of the 133 injured sustained bone fractures after leaping from heights to flee the fire.

The report noted the absence of an external fire escape on the hotel’s façade and stated that the floor-level fire alarm buttons and siren systems melted in the heat of the fire.

It stated that the incident began at 3:17 a.m. when a faulty electric grill plate in the fourth-floor kitchen overheated and started a fire, igniting the kitchen's gas supply hose. By 3:26 a.m., the blaze had "exceeded controllable limits."

The indictment found there was "no audible warning" system and that the hotel's "emergency action plan was inadequate" with its staff "inexperienced and untrained... and caused the fire to accelerate by opening the main doors of the car park.”

The fire struck during the peak season, with 238 guests staying for the winter school holidays. Panic spread rapidly among the guests, many of whom tried to escape through the windows using bedsheets as ropes, with some reportedly falling to their deaths.

Many survivors also confirmed that there were no alarms, no fire doors and no safe ways for people to exit the hotel.