Kervansaray Hotel: Olympian Berkin Usta and father killed in fire at Turkish ski resort
An Olympic skier and his father have died after a fire broke out at a closed ski resort hotel in Turkey’s Uludag region.
The victims were named as Berkin Usta, 25, who competed for Turkey at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and his father Yahya Usta, the president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association. Both were staying on the fifth floor of the Kervansaray Hotel in Bursa province when the fire broke out early Wednesday morning.
“I learned with deep sorrow that our national athlete Berkin Usta and his father Yahya Usta lost their lives in the fire that broke out in the hotel in Uludag,” said Turkey’s Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak.
According to the Bursa governor’s office, the hotel was not open to guests at the time of the fire, which started at 5.30am local time, but 12 staff members were present. Several people were taken to hospital due to smoke inhalation.
The 30-year-old hotel had been shut down in January after its accommodation permit was cancelled, officials said. TV footage showed flames engulfing the six-storey building, which is located in one of Turkey’s most popular ski resorts, just a few hours from Istanbul.
Bursa mayor Mustafa Bozbey said the fire is believed to have started in the cafeteria. Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control within two hours, but the upper floors were completely gutted.
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.
The tragedy comes just two months after another devastating blaze at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu province, where 79 people were killed during a school holiday. That fire also began in the hotel’s dining area.
According to the Anadolu news agency, 28 people have now been detained and are awaiting trial in connection with the Bolu hotel fire.