Turkish court sentences 11 defendants to life over ski resort hotel fire

A court in Türkiye has sentenced 11 of the 32 defendants in the case of the deadly fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort to life imprisonment.

Those convicted include the hotel owner, members of his family, representatives of the hotel administration where the tragedy occurred, and the deputy mayor of the city of Bolu, Caliber.Az reports, citing NTV.

The fire broke out on January 21, 2025, in the fourth-floor kitchen and restaurant area of the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Province, killing at least 78 people and injuring 51 others.

Investigators determined that a short circuit in a grill thermostat triggered the blaze, which quickly spread through the 12-story building due to faulty wiring and wooden exterior cladding.

At the time, the hotel was nearly full, hosting around 238 guests — many of them families with children on school holidays.

The absence of a smoke extraction system and several other technical deficiencies worsened the situation, forcing some guests to jump from windows in desperation.

Court hearings began on July 7 in Bolu, with defendants charged with “causing death and injury to multiple persons through conscious negligence.”

By Jeyhun Aghazada