Negligence played key role in Turkey ski resort deaths: expert

by Fulya OZERKAN

Negligence played a role in the deaths of 78 people who perished when a huge fire gutted a luxury ski resort hotel in northern Turkey this week, an expert has told AFP.

There were safety failures on multiple levels at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, the head of the Ankara Chamber of Architects told AFP late on Wednesday.

"We can't single out just one culprit, unfortunately. Many people weren't doing their jobs properly," Derya Basyilmaz said.

She is in Kartalkaya with a delegation of experts to prepare a report on the tragedy.

Anger has grown in Turkey -- which observed a day of mourning on Wednesday -- amid mounting evidence that negligence may have contributed to the high death toll from the fire, which swept through the hotel early on Tuesday.

Allegations of safety failings have dominated Turkey's front pages.

So far, 11 people have been arrested, including the hotel's owner, its general manager, director and chief electrician, and the fire chief in the nearby town of Bolu, the justice ministry has said.

Many survivors told the same story -- there were no fire alarms, no safety exits and no fire doors in the 12-storey hotel, leaving scores of people trapped inside.

- No working alarms, no sprinklers -

Although the Grand Kartal had a fire alarm system, it was not functioning and there were no sprinklers, Basyilmaz told AFP.

"There is an alarm system but we know it was not working. There should also have been a sprinkler system activated by the alarm to help the fire extinguishing process," she said.

It was crucial to check such systems regularly, she said.

"The fact the alarm systems and emergency exit lights couldn't be activated increased the scale of the tragedy."

Although Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy has said the hotel had two fire escapes, Basyilmaz noted that there was only one protected fire staircase.

That was "insufficient" for a 12-story hotel where 238 guests were staying.

"There should have been at least two escape staircases to evacuate the building safely, with fire-resistant doors to keep out the smoke," she said.

"The fact the building didn't have sufficient safety measures in place led to the high number of deaths."

Ersoy said on Tuesday the hotel had passed two safety inspections "in 2021 and 2024".

But Basyilmaz said she was only aware of a fire safety report issued by the local fire department in 2007 and did not know whether it had been updated.

"Regulations change over time and a fire compliance report is not valid forever. The main problem here is that the inspection was not carried out regularly," she said.

- Wooden cladding -

The fire is thought to have started in the fourth-floor restaurant area.

Basyilmaz pointed out that commercial kitchens were legally obliged to adhere to strict safety regulations and must have sprinkler systems, which was not the case at the Grand Kartal.

The hotel's picturesque location on the mountain top edge of a ski slope also complicated rescue efforts, she said.

Firefighters were "unable to reach the back facade" to quench the flames and rescue those trapped inside.

"Fire engines must be able to easily reach all four sides of a building," she said.

Her team, which included engineers, architects and other experts, is drafting a report on the fire which would be shared with the public, she said.

The hotel was covered with wooden cladding, through which the flames spread at speed, leaving only the building’s concrete shell and blackened interior.

After the February 2022 earthquake in southern Turkey, experts in architecture, engineering and other areas moved swiftly to inspect the worst-hit towns.

Their work was essential for documenting widespread evidence of property developers' failings to build in compliance with Turkey's regularly updated earthquake regulations.

© Agence France-Presse