He lost 8 family members in the fire! AKP figure reacts to Minister Ersoy: 'Those who should have taken precautions...'

Following the Grand Kartal Hotel fire, which claimed 78 lives, the debate continues over which institutions are responsible for fire inspections in hotels and businesses, while Mehmet Güner, a former AKP deputy who lost 8 family members in the fire, made a notable assessment.

"THEY WERE THE ONES WHO SHOULD HAVE TAKEN PRECAUTIONS"

Speaking about the blame game between Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan, who both said "The responsibility is not ours," Mehmet Güner stated, "Taking precautions was not our job. From the hotel management to the municipality and the ministry... They were the ones who should have taken precautions," expressing that both the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Bolu Municipality were negligent in the incident.

MINISTER ERSOY HAD BLAMED BOLU MUNICIPALITY

Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, in his statement regarding the hotel fire tragedy in Bolu, had said, "The Bolu Fire Department provides the authorization in Kartalkaya. You cannot get it from any municipality other than the Bolu Municipality, because you are within the borders of Bolu province. Only fire departments provide the fire safety certificate. The municipalities you are affiliated with within the provincial borders provide it. If the district does not have the competence, then the Bolu Fire Department provides it."

TANJU ÖZCAN HAD ALSO RESPONDED

Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan, on the other hand, passed the buck to the ministry, stating, "Since we did not issue the license, whether there is a sensor or a fire escape... It would not be accurate to say there is, nor would it be accurate to say there isn't. Because we do not have the data. Since this place is outside municipal boundaries, and because this is a special tourism area, the licenses of the hotels were issued by the Ministry of Tourism, so the records are there."

Here are the highlights from the statements of Mehmet Güner, the 22nd Term AKP Bolu Deputy, on the program 'What You Don't Know with Yasemin Bozkurt and Esra Ada' broadcast on TGRT Haber;

"We experienced a very great pain. May God not give such pain to anyone. It is a very difficult event to overcome. In this incident, my daughter, my son-in-law, my daughter's brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and 4 of our grandchildren... Our children lost their lives as a result of some negligence in such a tragedy. By the way, I learned in the conversations that there were 78 people who died there, not just ours. I offer my condolences to their families as well. It is a difficult test for us. We are people of faith. Our faith protected us; we did not rebel against our Lord. There is negligence, we saw it, but even if you hang or beat the people responsible for this, it does not bring our children back.

"MY DAUGHTER CALLED AND SAID 'FORGIVE US'"

We were in Istanbul on the day of the incident. We lived in different apartments in the same complex. They went to Bolu on Saturday. Since my son-in-law's mother, father, and his late siblings were also there in Bolu... Our children went there, and after meeting, our son-in-law took his siblings and went up there for a 3-day vacation. They were going to leave 1 day after the fire; it was their last evening. That night, my wife's phone rang and woke me up. My daughter said on the phone, 'There is a fire.' She said, 'The rooms are filled with smoke, the situation is bad, forgive us.'

I immediately jumped up and hit the road; our nephews went. I arrived there 2.5 hours later. When I saw the fire, we saw that it was impossible for them to get out. We said there are some negligences and mistakes, but after this point, there is nothing that will bring our children back. We say precaution and destiny. Taking precautions was not our job. From the hotel management to the municipality and the ministry... They were the ones who should have taken precautions. We said this was destiny and we were patient.

"WE HAVE NO CHANCE TO LEAVE THE ROOM"

It is not possible for us to have clear information about the events. Only my daughter and son-in-law were staying in a suite room on the top floor because the grandchildren were there. My son-in-law's brother, may God have mercy on him, my dear Enes... They were 2 floors below. Enes was a doctor. I think he made a move towards his nephews instead of going down. He was one floor above. Our children were found entirely in the room, on the top floor. My daughter had already said, 'We have no chance to leave the room, more smoke is coming from outside.'

"WE CALLED VIA VIDEO BUT COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING DUE TO SMOKE"

My daughter and my children had very high spiritual feelings. They tried to live in the direction of God's pleasure. I never heard her scream even once during the fire. She said, 'Mom, there is nothing to be done, forgive us.' Only my middle grandchild had moved away from her side a little, I heard her say, 'Selim, come here.' We called via video first, but we couldn't see anything due to the smoke.

"BABACAN AND ÖZEL ALSO SHARED OUR PAIN"

Although we did not follow the media, we heard some things. We saw some disinformation after the fire. These are misunderstood. When our friend at the channel called me, I said, 'Let's meet when I come to Istanbul.' We saw that there were some news reports in some places as if they had come out of our mouths. I said, 'I will appear if it is a live broadcast, our words are being distorted.' There is also a problem with these things being used as political material. I thought we should experience our own pain. There is negligence in this matter, there are certain responsible people. They said that legal investigations are ongoing, and it is said that the necessary decisions are being made. I am not interested in them. Ultimately, what is done there does not bring my children back; hopefully, we will try to keep their memories alive, such as by establishing a foundation in their names in a way that befits them. Thank God, our President came to our funeral. Political leaders like Mr. Özgür Özel and Ali Babacan also came. They tried to share our pain.

"THE THING I AM MOST SAD ABOUT..."

(Did you identify them?) No. Our nephews who are doctors were the ones who stayed 2 floors below. They went to the Forensic Medicine Institute; they were able to identify those who came there, our 2 children, our doctor child and our pharmacist daughter. They identified them in Bolu. My daughter, son-in-law, and 4 grandchildren unfortunately went to Ankara to the Forensic Medicine Institute. Their identifications could only be made the next day. Our Minister of Interior and our President were able to follow it. 3 of my grandchildren came by helicopter to make it to the funeral. The thing I am most sad about, the thing that hurts me... Many of my relatives had passed away before. At the last moment, I would definitely open their shrouds, and if I had sincerity, I would definitely look and kiss them. I buried 5 of my children. But I could not open their faces. We are sad because of these."

News Source: 12punto