Police officer recounts the tip-off that led to the capture of factory owners: Trial regarding the fire continues

The hearing of witnesses began during the second session of the second hearing of the case, held by the Gebze 7th High Criminal Court at the Kandıra Penal Execution Institution campus.

Police officer E.E.C., testifying as a witness at the hearing, described the process of capturing the factory owners who had fled after the incident. Stating that defendant Onay Y. had called the police department to provide a tip, E.E.C. said, "Onay Y. called the police department's internal line.

He said the factory owners had fled to Tekirdağ and were planning to escape abroad from there. In a short time, police teams in Kocaeli and Tekirdağ apprehended İsmail Oransal and Altay Ali Oransal at the house where they were staying. Onay Y. had told us that Ali Osman Akat had given instructions to house the fugitives."

"Kurtuluş said he wanted to open a branch in his children's names because he had debts"

Witness M.Ç., who was heard at the hearing, stated that defendants İsmail and Altay Ali Oransal wanted to establish a company with the goal of exporting, and that he had founded a company upon this request. M.Ç. said, "One day during a meeting, their father, Kurtuluş Oransal, also came. He said he wanted to open a branch in his children's names because he had debts. Upon this, we opened a cosmetic branch in Dilovası. Kurtuluş also managed the operations at this factory."

The court panel adjourned the hearing until 14:00 tomorrow to continue hearing other witnesses.

Background of the incident

In the fire that broke out on November 8, 2025, at a cosmetic filling facility named Ravive Kozmetik in the Mimar Sinan neighborhood of Dilovası district, Hanım Gülek (65), Esma Dikan (65), Şengül Yılmaz (55), Tuncay Yıldız (48), Tuğba Taşdemir (18), Nisa Taşdemir (17), and Cansu Esatoğlu (16) lost their lives. Kurtuluş Oransal, one of the factory owners, who was in custody, suffered a heart attack in prison and passed away at the hospital where he was taken.

The indictment requested 7 life sentences each for 'murder with probable intent' and 3 sentences ranging from 6 months to 4 years for 'qualified property damage' for the detained defendants İsmail Oransal and his brother Altay Ali Oransal, who are officials of Ravive Kozmetik, as well as Aleyna Oransal and Gökberk Güngör, the detained officials of the LYKEE cosmetics firm, which was alleged to have been in a joint production partnership with them. The indictment also sought prison sentences ranging from 2 years and 8 months to 22 years and 6 months for 'causing death and injury by conscious negligence' for the fugitive Ümit Ç., the operator of the firm providing occupational health and safety services to the factory; the detained responsible manager Ünal A.; occupational safety experts Muhammet D. and Seyfullah Ç.; the detained former owner of the factory building, Güven D.; and the officials of the company that purchased the building, Caner Özgür Y., Özcan Y., and Özkan Y. For the detained Ali Osman A., who is the uncle of the Oransal brothers, as well as Onay Y., and the non-detained defendants Ömer A. and Abdurrahman Bayatlı, prison sentences ranging from 6 months to 5 years were requested for the crime of 'aiding and abetting a criminal'.

In the first session of the trial, the court panel had ruled for the release of Onay Y., one of the detained defendants being tried for 'aiding and abetting a criminal,' on the condition of a travel ban. The panel had also lifted the judicial control measures for the non-detained defendant Ömer A., while deciding that the current status of the other detained defendants should remain unchanged.