A Turkish court has sentenced 11 people to life in prison over a fire that killed 78 people at a hotel in a ski resort in northwest Turkiye’s Bolu mountains in January.
Among those sentenced on Friday were Halit Ergul – the owner of the Grand Kartal Hotel, which sits in the Kartalkaya ski resort about 295km (183 miles) east of Istanbul – according to state-run broadcaster TRT Haber.
The court also sentenced Ergul’s wife, Emine Ergul, and their daughters, Elif Aras and Ceyda Hacibekiroglu – all of whom were part of the hotel’s management team.
The deadly blaze broke out overnight in the restaurant of the Grand Kartal on January 21, quickly engulfing the 12-storey hotel, where 238 guests were staying.
Thirty-four children were among 78 people killed in the fire, which occurred during the school holidays when many families from Ankara and Istanbul head to the Bolu mountains to ski.
Another 137 people suffered injuries during the incident, as panicked hotel guests were forced to jump from windows in the middle of the night.
Also sentenced on Friday 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.
There are a total of 32 defendants in the trial, 20 of whom are in pre-trial detention, according to TRT. It’s unclear when the remaining defendants will appear in court.
In total, the convicted were handed 34 aggravated life sentences for the 34 children killed in the disaster. Those in the courtroom greeted the announcement with applause.
The fire sparked nationwide anger in Turkiye, with questions raised over safety measures in place at the hotel after survivors said no fire alarms went off during the incident, and they had to navigate smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.
Under pressure to act, Turkish authorities quickly arrested nine people in connection with the blaze, while the government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation.
Speaking to reporters outside the still-smoking hotel, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya pledged that those “responsible for causing this pain will not escape justice”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a day of national mourning, as he served as a pallbearer at a funeral ceremony for the victims the following day.
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