11 Life Sentences After Turkey Ski Resort Hotel Fire
2nd November 2025
78 people, including 34 children, died in the blaze in the ski resort of Kartalkaya in Turkey. The fire broke out last January during the country’s school holidays in the…
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78 people, including 34 children, died in the blaze in the ski resort of Kartalkaya in Turkey.
The fire broke out last January during the country’s school holidays in the Grand Kartal hotel.
It started in the restaurant and quickly engulfed the 12-storey hotel, where 238 guests were staying.
PlanetSKI was in Turkey at the time and reported on the tragedy:
Among those sentenced on Friday were Halit Ergul, the owner of the Grand Kartal Hotel, along with his wife, Emine Ergul, and their daughters, Elif Aras and Ceyda Hacibekiroglu – all were part of the hotel’s management team.
“If I had foreseen the risk, I would have closed the hotel myself,” Halit Ergul told the hearing which took place inside a specially constructed court room at a local school.
He said the hotel had regular inspections and blamed the gas supplier.
He claimed the tourism ministry was responsible for oversight.
Grand Kartal hotel, Kartalkaya, Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI
Hilmi Altin, who lost his wife and nine-year-old daughter, told the AFP news agency: “I go to the cemetery each day. No psychologist can ease such a pain.”
Also sentenced were the hotel’s general manager, Emir Aras.
As well as the deputy mayor of Bolu, Sedat Gulener, and the director of another hotel, Ahmet Demir, both of whom were reportedly on the board of directors of the company that owned the Grand Kartal.
Survivors said no fire alarms went off during the incident, and they had to escape through smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.
Some guests were forced to jump from windows.
A further 18 defendants received sentences ranging from 12 to 22 years.
Most were hotel employees.
Others were acquitted, including two cooks.
Kartalkaya, Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI
