Turkey: 76 dead from the hotel fire – “The perpetrators of the tragedy will answer,” Erdogan says

At 76 the number of deaths rose due to the fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province in the north, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Gerlikaya said. Twenty-four hours of national mourning was declared by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the tragedy with the 76 dead and 52 injured due to the fire in a ski resort hotel in Turkey. Previous account reported 66 dead and 51 injured. CORVERSE President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a 24-hour national mourning . In statements after the Cabinet meeting in Ankara, he said he initiated a judicial and administrative investigation into the causes of the fire. He also clarified that six prosecutors, two public administration inspectors, four Labour Ministry inspectors and a five-member expert committee have been appointed for this purpose. Four government ministers also rushed on the spot. “I say this clearly and unequivocally once and for all: Those who caused such a disaster, those who showed negligence and blame, will answer before the law,” Tayyip Erdogan said. Turkey’s High Broadcasting Council imposed on the media a ban on information about the fire. CORVERSE The fire caught them asleep. The fire at the 12-story Grand Kartal hotel, which is located at the well-known Kartalkaya winter tourism destination, about 300 km west of Istanbul and 180 km from Ankara, broke out at 3:27 in the morning. At that time most hotel customers were in their rooms and their flames found them in sleep, which is estimated to increase the number of victims. The large number of victims also contributed to the fact that at this time students in Turkey are on a 15-day holiday after the end of the first semester in schools and for many families this is a winter trip period. The causes of the fire are not yet known. There is no way that it is due to a gas leak or short circuit. The first estimates indicate that the fire started from the restaurant area of the hotel. At the time of the fire at the hotel there were 237 guests, according to Prefect Bolou, Abdullah Aydin. Earlier, the initial information mentioned ten dead and 32 injured and then public opinion learned shocked by the Interior Minister that the account had reached 66 dead and 51 injured. Seventeen injured have been released from the hospital where they were taken. In the images shown it appears that the fire quickly flooded the hotel and destroyed it completely. In the rapid spread of the fire contributed the fact that the building had on the walls of the wooden lining. Authorities have warned about the danger of collapse of the building. Complaints of poor fire protection According to complaints, the hotel did not have a water-fire system activated automatically in the event of a fire and the alarm did not sound. Initial information that he did not even have external escape stairs in the event of a fire, was refuted by Tourism Minister Mehmet Nouri Ersoy, who invoked a relevant certificate from the Fire Service. It is also reported that in Kartalkaya, which is one of the most important ski resorts, at a relatively close distance to Istanbul and Ankara, the nearest fire service station is located within an hour and 15 minutes. In the images shown it seems that the fire quickly flooded the hotel and destroyed it completely. In the rapid spread of the fire contributed the fact that the building had on the walls of the wooden lining. Authorities have warned of the risk of collapse of the building. At least 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the scene, Aydin’s office reported. According to Yerlikaya, authorities mobilised 267 emergency people to respond to the fire. Authorities evacuated other hotels in the resort as a precautionary measure and visitors were housed in hotels around Bolu. “It smelled burnt, some jumped out the windows” Eyewitnesses remembered the smell of burning, with visitors’ cries filling the top floors of the hotel. Others said the hotel’s fire detection service did not work. Some videos, others were shared on social media and others were broadcast by Turkish television stations, showed flames coming out of the hotel’s top floors. Some people seemed to use tied sheets to try to escape the fire. “It was so bad. Everyone jumped out the windows in fear of death and people were so ashamed that there were no fire extinguishers around,” said an eyewitness. “We couldn’t bring water to people. Ambulances and fire trucks came too late and people didn’t know what to do,” he added. A visitor living on the third floor of the hotel said the alarm was not heard, reported the Associated Press, citing the IHA news agency. “My wife smelled the burn … We tried to get up but we didn’t make it, there were flames,” Atakan Yelkan said. “People upstairs were screaming. They hung the sheets… Some tried to jump.” Ski instructor Necmi Kepcetutan, a hotel resident, said he woke up from chaos and helped save about 20 visitors. “The smoke was stifling and it was hard for people to find the fire,” he told the television network NTV. In the images shown it appears that the fire quickly flooded the hotel and destroyed it completely. In the rapid spread of the fire contributed the fact that the building had on the walls of the wooden lining. Authorities have warned about the risk of collapse of the building. Nine arrests Kartalkaya ski resort, located in the Köroğlu mountains, is about 38 km (24 mi) from Bolu and 270 km from Istanbul. Other hotels in the area were evacuated preventively, with guests being taken to accommodation in Bolu. The Interior Minister also said nine people were arrested in connection with the fire. Among the arrested is the owner of the hotel. Authorities continue to investigate the causes of the fire, committing to thoroughly investigate the tragedy. Earlier, four people were arrested and detained after the very dead fire at the ski resort Kartalkaya in Bolu province, Turkey, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tootz announced.