Fire at Closed Ski Resort Hotel in Turkey Claims Lives of Olympic Skier and His Father
A fire at a closed ski resort hotel in northwest Turkey claimed the lives of an Olympic skier and his father on Thursday, two months after another blaze at a Turkish winter resort resulted in 79 deaths.
The victims were identified as Yahya Usta, president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association, and his 25-year-old son Berkin, who represented Turkey at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Yahya Usta, his son, and his wife were staying on the hotel's fifth floor.
The Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Bursa province, was unoccupied by guests at the time of the fire, which started at 5:30 a.m., but 12 staff members were present, according to the Bursa governor’s office. Several individuals suffering from smoke inhalation were hospitalized. The 30-year-old hotel had been shut down in early January following the cancellation of its accommodation permit.
Television footage showed flames rapidly consuming the six-story hotel, which is situated on the slopes of one of Turkey’s most popular ski destinations, less than a three-hour drive from Istanbul. Fire crews managed to bring the blaze under control within two hours, but the upper floors were severely damaged.
Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey stated that the fire originated in the cafeteria. Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak expressed his condolences, stating, “I learned with deep sorrow that our national athlete Berkin Usta and his father Yahya Usta lost their lives in the fire that broke out in the hotel in Uludag.”
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the Bursa fire. In January, a similar incident occurred when a 12-story ski resort hotel in northwestern Turkey was engulfed in flames during a school holiday, resulting in 79 fatalities. That fire, which took place at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains, also began in the hotel's dining area.
Authorities have continued their investigation into the Bolu fire, and recent arrests have increased the number of individuals in detention awaiting trial to 28.
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