The usually peaceful slopes of Kartalkaya, a beloved winter destination in Turkey’s Bolu Mountains, were transformed into the scene of one of the country’s deadliest hotel fires earlier this year. Now, after months of investigation and legal wrangling, the Turkish justice system has delivered its verdict on the disaster that claimed 78 lives, including 34 children, and left 137 others injured.
On January 21, 2025, the Grand Kartal Hotel was bustling with activity. The winter school break had drawn 238 guests, many of them families from Istanbul and Ankara, eager to enjoy the snow and mountain air. But the festive atmosphere turned to horror when a fire erupted in the hotel’s restaurant, quickly engulfing the 12-story building. As flames and smoke spread, guests were forced to jump from windows in desperate attempts to escape. According to AFP, Hilmi Altin, who lost his wife and nine-year-old daughter, described his unending grief: “I go to the cemetery each day. No psychologist can ease such a pain.”
The tragedy sent shockwaves across Turkey. Among the victims were four members of the Murat Tokcan family, well-known in the community, whose roots trace back to Medyad (Midyat). Their loss, along with so many others, underscored the scale of the disaster. The Federation of Syriac Associations in Turkey (SÜDEF) called the event “a great tragedy” and extended its deepest condolences to all affected families, as reported by NTV and other outlets.
Authorities wasted little time in launching a sweeping investigation. Early findings painted a grim picture: the Grand Kartal Hotel, a prominent establishment in Kartalkaya, had severe failures in safety compliance. Investigators discovered that faulty safety equipment and substandard gas installations played a major role in the rapid spread of the fire. According to the BBC and other sources, the lack of preventive measures and critical lapses in fire safety protocols not only allowed the blaze to ignite but also dramatically worsened its impact.
In the aftermath, 32 individuals were charged with varying degrees of responsibility. The list of defendants was a who’s who of the hotel’s management and local officials: hotel owner Halit Ergül, his wife, their two daughters, the hotel’s accountant and general manager, two deputy mayors of Bolu, the head of the fire department, a fire inspector, and several hotel employees. The investigation also scrutinized the roles of cooks and other staff, reflecting the widespread failures that contributed to the disaster.
The legal proceedings were unprecedented in scale. Given the high public interest and the number of defendants, the First High Criminal Court convened the hearing in a specially equipped local school gymnasium. The reading of the verdict, reported by NTV, was a tense affair that lasted just 13 minutes but was met with a wave of applause from victims’ families and observers—perhaps a rare moment of catharsis in a long ordeal.
On November 1, 2025, the court handed down its sentences. Eleven defendants, including hotel owner Halit Ergül, his wife, and two daughters, were found guilty of severe negligence and sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the deaths of the children. For the remaining 44 adult victims, these same individuals received an additional 25 years each. Eighteen more defendants, many of them hotel employees, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12 to 22 years. Meanwhile, two cooks and several others were acquitted, their roles deemed less central to the chain of negligence that led to the catastrophe.
Throughout the trial, the question of responsibility was hotly contested. Halit Ergül, the hotel’s owner, steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. According to statements reported by the Nigerian Tribune and other sources, Ergül insisted that the hotel had “passed regular inspections” and blamed the gas supplier and the tourism ministry for the failures. “If I had foreseen the risk, I would have closed the hotel myself,” he told the court. But the evidence presented—faulty alarms, blocked exits, and non-compliant gas equipment—painted a starkly different picture.
The prosecution argued that the disaster was not a freak accident but the result of a cascade of preventable errors. Investigators found that the hotel’s management had ignored repeated warnings about safety lapses and failed to implement basic fire prevention measures. The lack of functioning safety equipment, in particular, meant that guests had little warning and even fewer options for escape once the fire broke out. Local officials, including two deputy mayors and senior fire safety personnel, were also implicated for their roles in approving the hotel’s operations despite clear deficiencies.
The scale of the tragedy prompted a national conversation about safety standards in Turkey’s hospitality industry. Many wondered how such a well-known hotel, in a region famous for its winter tourism, could operate with such glaring safety violations. In the aftermath, the Ministry of Tourism and local authorities pledged to conduct comprehensive reviews of fire safety protocols across the country’s resorts and hotels. Whether these promises will translate into lasting change remains to be seen.
The Kartalkaya fire has also left a deep scar on the community. Survivors and families of the victims have struggled to come to terms with their losses. For some, the court’s verdict offered a measure of justice, but it could never fully heal the wounds. As Hilmi Altin’s words remind us, the pain of losing loved ones in such a senseless tragedy lingers long after the headlines fade.
In the end, the Kartalkaya disaster stands as a stark warning about the cost of complacency and the importance of rigorous safety standards. The court’s decision, applauded by many, sends a clear message that negligence—especially when it endangers lives—will not go unpunished. For the families of the 78 who perished, the road to healing is long, but the pursuit of accountability has at least brought some measure of closure.
