Statements from suspects regarding the Grand Kartal Hotel fire: Hotel staff extended a ladder

Emine Mürtezaoğlu Ergül, wife of hotel owner Halit Ergül, whose statement was included in the indictment completed by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and sent to the Bolu High Criminal Court regarding the incident on January 21 at the Grand Kartal Hotel, where 78 people lost their lives and 133 were injured, stated that she and her husband founded Grand Kartal Turizm AŞ.

Noting that they included their daughters Elif Aras and Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu in the company structure to meet the requirement of having 5 people when the company was established at that time, Ergül argued that she served as vice president, but this role was purely on paper, she had no actual involvement in the company's operations or administrative side, they generally went to the hotel to ski and spend time with their daughters and grandchildren, and that the management of the company and the hotel belonged to her husband Halit Ergül and her son-in-law Emir Aras.

Claiming that she had no knowledge of the measures regarding the fire at the hotel, the structural problems of the hotel, or personnel training, Ergül explained that she was staying in room 6018 on the 6th floor on the day of the incident, woke up around 03:32 to sounds coming from the corridors, encountered heavy smoke when she left the room, and immediately closed the door.

Ergül stated that her daughter Ceyda, who was at the hotel, called and told her about the fire, and that she told her and her other daughter to break the windows in their rooms, adding, "There was a state of panic during the subsequent process. I did not leave the room; hotel staff extended a ladder to the window of the room I was in, and I got out of the room that way. There is no such thing as being notified in advance and leaving the hotel early. I am extremely sorry about the fire, but I have no liability in this matter. I do not accept the accusations against me."

"I SAW THAT SMOKE HAD SEEPED INTO THE ROOM"

Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, daughter of hotel owner Halit Ergül, noted that her partnership in the hotel was established by her parents when she was 16 years old.

Arguing that she had no contribution to the management and administrative operations of the company other than being listed as a partner on paper, Hacıbekiroğlu claimed that she was not consulted on any matters regarding decisions made about the company, and therefore had no role in the process since the construction of the hotel.

Hacıbekiroğlu, who did not accept the accusations against her, stated that she was staying in the interconnected rooms 6004 and 6005 with her two children and her assistant on the day the fire broke out, and that her assistant woke her up by saying there was heavy smoke in the corridor, and continued as follows:

"When I woke up, I saw that smoke had seeped into the room. I tried to break the window, but since it was double-glazed, the outer pane did not break. An unknown customer on the porch just below the window said he would help and broke the window. Then, I handed the children to the ski instructors who were on the porch at that time and climbed down from the porch. After I got out of the hotel, I helped the remaining people as much as I could. I also lost my own friends in the fire. The allegations that we were notified in advance and left the hotel quickly are not true. During the intervention after the fire, the AFAD teams asked for the vehicles to be moved because my father's vehicle, which was in the parking lot and arrived at the scene later, was parked irregularly and posed a risk, saying there could be an explosion, and those vehicles were moved from the parking lot."

Halit Ergül's other daughter, Elif Aras, stated that her father made them board members at a time she could not recall.

Aras, who argued that she had no technical knowledge about the operation of the hotel, resided in Istanbul, and had come to the hotel as a customer a total of 3-4 times during holidays and weekends, claimed that although she was a board member, she had no signature authority.

Aras provided information that she was staying in room 7027 on the 7th floor of the hotel with her husband and daughter during the incident, and noted the following:

"Upon hearing sounds from the corridor around 03:30, I asked my husband to check. My husband opened the door, checked the corridor, and said there was a fire. I took my daughter and quickly left the room, going directly down to the lobby entrance on the 5th floor through the smoke. At that moment, I saw another child and took them out as well. Although it did not come to my mind at first in the heat of the moment, I started looking for my mother, sister, and nieces when I realized it then. Later, I learned that they had gotten out through the windows. I woke up by hearing the sounds in the corridor during the incident; no one called me on my cell phone in any way. I do not accept the accusations against me."

"I DID NOT RECEIVE FIRE TRAINING"

Hotel receptionist Yiğithan Burak Çetin explained that he was on the night shift on the date of the incident and thought an earthquake had occurred because the desk was shaking.

Stating that he became aware of the incident when a kitchen worker shouted "There is a fire," Çetin argued that he had not received fire training, and because no fire drill had been conducted, he panicked and froze, and there was no warning or alarm panel in the reception, and he had not been informed about this.

Stating that there was no alarm button near the reception, and that after learning about the incident, he called the 156 gendarmerie line around 03:26 and 112 around 03:28, and called the reception chief and staff and hotel manager Zeki Yılmaz, Çetin stated, "During the incident, I saw Mr. Emir leaving the hotel with his child in his arms and his family, and Mr. Zeki, Ms. Elif, and Ms. Ceyda running out of the hotel. I don't remember which one left when. I have no fault as there was no warning or alarm panel in the reception section and I had not received training on this matter."

REQUESTED SENTENCES

The indictment states that hotel owners, company board members, and managers Halit Ergül, Emine Mürtezaoğlu Ergül, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, Elif Aras, Emir Aras, Zeki Yılmaz, Ahmet Demir, Kadir Özdemir, Cemal Özer, Mehmet Salun, as well as Bolu Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Acting Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun, and firefighter İrfan Acar are "responsible for the incident with possible intent."

The indictment requests that 13 people be sentenced to a total of up to 1,998 years in prison each for the crimes of "murder with possible intent" 78 times and "intentional injury with possible intent."

The indictment also requests that hotel technical staff Tahsin Pekcan, Hüseyin Özer, and Bayram Ütkü, kitchen staff Reşat Bölük, Enver Öztürk, and Faysal Yaver, occupational safety experts Kübra Demir and Ece Kayacan, receptionist Yiğithan Burak Çetin, Mudurnu Enerji Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi officials İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, FQC Global Sertifikasyon Anonim Şirketi official Ali Ağaoğlu and employee Aleyna Beşinci, LPG installation maintenance workers Doğan Aydın and Muharrem Şen, Bolu Provincial Special Administration Secretary General Sırrı Köstereli, Bolu Provincial Special Administration Deputy Secretary General Bünyamin Bal, Bolu Provincial Special Administration Licensing and Inspection Manager Yeliz Erdoğan, and former Bolu Provincial Special Administration Licensing and Inspection Manager Mehmet Özel be sentenced to up to 22 years and 6 months in prison each for the crime of "causing the death and injury of more than one person through conscious negligence."

News Source: AA