Kartalkaya fire: Bolu Provincial Special Administration Secretary General and his deputy referred to the courthouse

Bolu Provincial Special Administration Secretary General Sırrı Köstereli and Deputy Secretary General Bünyamin Bal, who were taken into custody as part of the investigation launched by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into the fire disaster at the Grand Kartal Hotel, have been referred to the courthouse.

In the investigation launched so far regarding the hotel fire disaster at the Kartalkaya Ski Center, one of Turkey's most important winter tourism centers, 19 people have been arrested. The investigation into the fire disaster, in which 78 people, including 36 children, lost their lives, is ongoing. 

Bolu Provincial Special Administration Secretary General Sırrı Köstereli, who was taken into custody and referred to the courthouse, passed the buck to Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy by saying, "The authority lies with the Provincial Special Administration." 

Minister Ersoy had previously stated regarding the inspection authority of the hotel where the disaster occurred: "The authority for licensing and occupancy permits lies with the Provincial Special Administration. The Provincial Special Administration is also authorized for the general area; the Ministry of Tourism is not. For me, the renewal of the workplace opening and operating license means that the fire department report and other reports have also been renewed."

Responding to Minister Ersoy with the words, "This is a tourism-certified business. It is clear in the regulation who is responsible for the inspection of such places," Köstereli had said the following:  

"The Provincial Special Administration does not have a duty such as inspection. This is a tourism-certified business. It is clear in the regulation who is responsible for the inspection of such places. Everything is in the regulation. That license in 2015 was only an update regarding the hotel's address change. No documents are requested due to an address change. Only the address on the document is changed."