It became a grave for 78 people... How the Kartalkaya tragedy began revealed: No one intervened as flames rose

Security camera footage has emerged regarding the fire that occurred on January 21 at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center, in which 78 people lost their lives.

The footage recorded by cameras in the hotel's restaurant section has been revealed for the first time.

FLAMES ROSE DURING BREAKFAST PREPARATIONS

According to the report by journalist Alican Uludağ, while breakfast preparations were underway in the morning at the restaurant on the fourth floor of the hotel, smoke and then flames rose from an electric grill in the kitchen.

In the footage, it is seen that an employee entered the restaurant approximately 7 minutes before the fire, took a supply cart, and then left the scene. The records also show that oil leaking from the grill, which was the source of the flames, ignited a trash can located right next to it.

NO INITIAL INTERVENTION, FLAMES SPIRALED OUT OF CONTROL

It was noted in the footage that no hotel staff intervened in the fire during its first minutes. At that time, 238 people staying at the hotel were asleep. The fire, which started from the electric grill, grew within a few minutes and engulfed the restaurant.

TURNED INTO A DISASTER IN 7 MINUTES

According to the expert report, just 7 minutes after the fire started, the flames reached a size that could not be intervened with. During this time, the sealing gasket of the LPG hose melted, and a gas leak began.

This caused the fire to grow rapidly. Eleven minutes after the fire started, dense smoke covered the entire restaurant.

THERE WAS NO FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEM

The prepared expert report stated that there was no automatic fire extinguishing system in the electric grill system where the fire started. It was emphasized that this deficiency played a significant role in the fire spreading in an unstoppable manner.

78 PEOPLE, INCLUDING 36 CHILDREN, LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE TRAGEDY

In the fire that plunged Turkey into mourning, a total of 78 people, 36 of whom were children, lost their lives, and many others were injured.