Grieving families honor victims of Bolu hotel fire
BOLU
Families and survivors on April 13 gathered outside a now-closed hotel to commemorate the 78 victims who died in the Jan. 21 fire at a ski resort in Türkiye’s northern province of Bolu.
Participants in the memorial placed photographs of the deceased alongside carnations at the entrance of the Grand Kartal Hotel. Grieving families were seen embracing one another, unable to hold back their tears.
The family of Nehir Sarıtaş, whose birthday falls on April 14, brought a cake to the site of the commemoration, marking their late daughter’s 16th birthday.
Half of those who lost their lives in the fire were children, as the incident coincided with the school break.
The series of faults in the hotel has been identified as a primary cause for the heavy death toll, with the country discussing the event for an extended period.
In a speech on behalf of the families’ platform, Zeynep Kotan, mother of Ömür Kotan, one of the victims, said, "Jan. 21, 2025, will forever remain an unforgettable day for us, a day that will remain a deep wound in our hearts.”
“Since that night, we have never awakened to a new dawn. We lost our children, our spouses, our families and our friends."
"Our very lives were torn apart."
She expressed that their primary goal now is to ensure that justice is served. Kotan emphasized that, despite the passage of time, they have not yet begun to mourn properly.
"Only when we win the fight for the right to a secure life, a secure future, will we be able to mourn in peace."
A recent expert report revealed that the high death toll in the Kartalkaya fire disaster was due to the misuse of the "golden 10 minutes" of evacuation, as hotel owners prioritized saving themselves and their vehicles over evacuating guests.
"Instead of focusing on rescuing the guests, the hotel owners prioritized saving their vehicles. The golden time was squandered and the hotel owners were privileged and rescued first."
