19-year-old girl trapped in hotel fire: 'We waited for death in the bathroom'

The first hearing of the fire disaster at the Bolu Grand Kartal Hotel, which resulted in 78 deaths and 133 injuries, is ongoing. On the 5th day of the trial, where 32 defendants, 19 of whom are in custody, are being tried, the defense statements were completed. On the 6th day of the hearing, complainant statements are continuing following the defense arguments.

"WE WAITED FOR DEATH IN THE BATHROOM"

19-year-old Sevgi Selvi, who was at the hotel during the fire, said, "78 is a very large number here. The reason this number is not higher than 78 is not because of the hotel management or the employees. Those who survived did so by chance. No one should die by chance. I am 19 years old. I am not a child, but I was the youngest person who came here. Those who were not referred to as children there were also young, bright people who would have contributed to our country. I was staying at that hotel on the night of the fire. I woke up after my friend knocked on the door, but there was too much smoke.

When we opened the door, our friend was about to faint. When I woke up, it was impossible to breathe and it was very dark. This was my first stroke of luck. I always go to that hotel and I know the hotel very well. The alarm never went off. There was no sprinkler system or anything like that. We had covered our mouths with wet cloths. We waited for death in our room, in our bathroom. None of my roommates were of legal age. We waited for death in the bathroom.

I am very ashamed here; I am ashamed to look at Ms. Duygu. Doruk died, God gave me a second chance at life. I was thinking about how to tell my mother and father that I loved them without causing them grief. We tried our chance to go outside one last time. I saw someone breaking the window. I entered room 8027. We tried to climb down by tying sheets together. There were 10 of us, and all 10 of us survived. I have become afraid of the smallest things now. When someone knocks on my door, I feel like I am still in that fire; I cannot stand foggy weather, and I am afraid of the smell of smoke," she said.

"THEY WERE NOT EVEN GRANTED A SHROUD"

Ayşe Ekici, a complainant and relative of Süleyman, his wife Seden Nurgül, and their children Ela and Buse Dayı, who lost their lives in the fire, said, "I lost my four children. My children went for 3 days. They stayed for one day, they burned on the second day, and they were going to come back on the third day. We could not find our children for 20 hours the next day. While we were going with their father, my son called and said, 'Mom, we found my sister in Ankara.' They asked for DNA, they put them in a bag; they were not even granted a shroud, they buried my children in coffins. We go to sleep crying and wake up crying. I have not left the house for 6 months, while they were having a good time. There is no such thing as humanity. I am a complainant to the end," she stated.

News Source: İHA