He escaped the Bolu fire by lowering a bedsheet: He recounted those moments like this...

The search for justice continues for those left behind after the fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center, which caused the deaths of 79 people. One of those individuals is businessman Hilmi Aydın. Aydın, who lost his 43-year-old dentist wife Kübra and 11-year-old daughter Alya in the fire, survived the flames by chance.

His wife and daughter disappeared in the smoke. He himself fell from a height of several meters while descending with a bedsheet lowered from a room on the eighth floor. Hilmi Aydın, who survived by chance, recounted his experiences to İsmail Saymaz.

"This is a massacre. They told us, 'Choose your own way to die.' Like a multiple-choice question. Do you want to die by jumping, do you want to die by burning, do you want to die by suffocating? Will you survive by chance? This is what they made us live through," said Hilmi Aydın, who answered Saymaz's questions as follows:

"How did the idea of going to Bolu for a vacation come about?

We have been going to Bolu for three or four years, but we had never been to that hotel. My daughter Alya and her close friend Derin wanted us to go together. This was a last-minute plan. With us were Derin's sister Defne, her mother Yaprak, and her father, Prof. Dr. Atakan Yalçın, Dean of the Faculty of Business at Özyeğin University.

How many days had you been there?

It was our first night. We took the children skiing, and we sat down. The children returned, and we sat down for dinner. They went upstairs with their mothers. We chatted with our friends. I went to the room around midnight.

Which floor were you on?

The eighth.

How did you wake up?

My wife woke me up with screams. I saw my wife and child in front of me, hand in hand. She said, "Hilmi, there is a fire. I'm taking Alya. Follow us." She dashed toward the stairs. I got dressed immediately. I was hesitant. I was in doubt, thinking, "What fire? Can there be such a big fire?" My wife had left the door open. There was shouting and screaming in the hallway; people were running around. I saw the smoke.

Which direction was it coming from?

From the direction of the stairs.

What time was it?

I have no idea, I didn't look at the clock. I didn't take my phone or a watch with me. I put something on. I hadn't even put on socks. I put on my shoes and went out. I couldn't find the stairs because of the smoke.

Did you hear an alarm?

There was nothing.

Knocking on the door?

What I heard was that they had woken us up by knocking on the doors. There are even those who said, "We thought people were fighting, so we went back to sleep."

You went out into the hallway, your wife went toward the stairs, right?

Yes, there was a maximum difference of 50-60 seconds between us. I tried to follow them, but the smoke hit me. I struggled. I got dizzy. I went back out. I said, "Hilmi, get well soon to yourself."

Where did you return to?

I stayed in front of the door. My friends in the next room bumped into me in the hallway. They said, "Hilmi, let's knock on the doors, let's enter a room." We knocked on the doors. By chance, we came to the door of Atakan Yalçın and his family. They opened it. We went inside. Atakan said, "Let's tie the bedsheets together." I saw a towel on the floor. It occurred to me to wet it and run after my wife and daughter. I asked for permission. They said, "Don't go, there is too much smoke." I said, "I don't want to be separated from them." We opened the door. It had become pitch black. The smoke spread so fast... Because people started breaking the windows, it created a chimney effect. 10-15 seconds led to very critical changes. We were blinded. I went out into the smoke and walked randomly. I couldn't find the stairs. I was close to suffocating. Suddenly the smoke cleared. I saw a crowded group trying to break the window. I took a breath. I returned to my friends' room. I shouted, "Come, there is oxygen here." I didn't get an answer. Because there was so much shouting and running around. Everyone was running in the hallway without seeing each other. The smoke had started to block the sound. When I saw people breaking windows, I wrapped a wet towel around my hand and punched the glass. The smoke came to us quickly. Every window that was opened was drawing in the smoke. A large group of us took refuge in a room. It cannot be a coincidence that those people ended up there. They were very calm. A team quickly started tying bedsheets. I said, "Can we throw the mattresses down?" Because we were lining up the children. Someone said, "We can throw them." We men squeezed the mattresses and threw them out of the tiny window, double mattresses. First, we lowered the children, then the women.

From how many meters?

From the eighth floor to the fifth floor, to the canopy. Many people's children went down. The first child to go down went down a bit like a commando. His father said, "This won't work like this, let's lower them." We lowered them by hanging them. There were those who fell.

But no one died.
No one died.

How many were you?

I remembered 13, but it turned out there were more of us. Six children, three or four women. The bedsheet tore with the friend before me. I looked, there was a little bit of bedsheet left. I threw myself down while swinging. I went down on my back. I fell on top of someone. Probably someone who was trying to help us. I said, "Are you okay?" The kid said, "Brother, are you okay?"

From how many meters did you fall?

It must be eight meters. The ladder arrived after me. The last two people went down with the ladder.

Then?

I went down; I ran after my wife and daughter. I said, "They must be waiting in the lobby." No, there was no sound at all. They said, "We took them to the Kartal Hotel." I shouted, I called out. No sound. I returned. I saw the smoke in the lobby. I said, "They probably couldn't get out, let me go inside." Someone said, "Brother, you can't go in, those who go in don't come out." He didn't let me in. I thought about how I could help others. I ran to the Kartal Hotel. I shouted in the lobby, "Bring mattresses, people are going to jump." The staff brought mattresses. We threw them onto the canopies. I don't have a coat on, my feet are without socks, I started to shiver, to freeze. I entered the hotel. I took care of my injured friends.

Where did they find your wife and Alya?

I have no idea. I don't know if they were able to enter another room, or if they fell to the ground, I don't know.

Who from the Yalçın family lost their lives?

Atakan and his daughter Derin. His wife and other daughter survived.

What do you think about that night?

This is a massacre. They told us, "Choose your own way to die." Like a multiple-choice question. Do you want to die by jumping, do you want to die by burning, do you want to die by suffocating? Will you survive by chance? This is what they made us live through. If the rumors are true, this is heartlessness.

What do you mean by rumors?

The fact that the hotel owners and their families were taken out early.
"We will put out the fire ourselves, don't notify anyone" statements.
The fact that the alarm system was turned off so it wouldn't be affected by cigarette smoke.
There is also information that precautions were not taken because it would be an expense.
There shouldn't be money for this hotel. The cost to be incurred is not even half of one night's revenue.

An expert report is mentioned. Whether it exists or not is a mystery.
I wonder, who wrote it? Will it have an effect on the course of the case? Since we don't have access to the file, I don't know what it is. If it was really written by an expert, anyone reading it would say that this hotel should not be operating.

The boss was arrested, but the hotel's shareholders are free.

This is a crime scene. 78 people died. This is not a natural disaster, it is a fire. These people's statements should be taken, and they should at least be under judicial control. Rumors are coming that they are not included in judicial control and that they are conducting transactions regarding the companies. If the rumors are true, it must be prevented. I cannot accuse anyone, but the rumors hurt me.

Did you file a criminal complaint?

Of course. We filed for possible intent. If there were those who were rescued from the upper floors at an earlier hour, and if we were not warned at all until 03:30 and later, there must be an explanation for this.

Families are coming together. You are included too, right?

I am included. We are all striving for a pure and clean search for justice.

I have nothing left to lose anyway. I have lost my family. From now on, my concern is this: I have been hurt. May no one's family be hurt for such reasons. May children not die. They were children who would be the future of the country. Why are we losing these lives for nothing? Why are we suffering these pains? The greater pains haven't even started yet. Everyone is around us right now. When we are left alone, we will fall to ourselves. There is a branch we can hold onto, and that is this case of ours. There is nothing else in this life from which I can draw strength.

I am focused on the case. We are trying to meet wherever each family is and combine what kind of information each person has.

Did you go to the hotel again after the disaster?

We went to get my wife's vehicle. I couldn't look at the vehicle. A friend of ours took the vehicle and drove it away.

What did you feel when you saw the hotel?

I really can't believe it. I still haven't accepted the reality of it. It hurts. I say, "It can't be." This must be a nightmare. I still haven't finished accepting it inside me."

News Source: 12punto