Deadly Turkey hotel fire sparks safety concerns and political blame game

All these people would not have died if the deficiencies we mentioned in (the fire) inspection had been addressed,

Tanju Ozcan, mayor of the nearby Bolu municipality, told broadcaster Halk TV

While the municipality was waiting for the deficiencies to be corrected, the hotel withdrew the request because they did not want to meet these costs and applied to another company. Authorization was given to a company authorized by the ministry,

the mayor said

Our legislation does not refer to these norms. It is only vaguely stated that 'guest and employee safety must be ensured,'

he said, urging stricter rules

There is an alarm system but we know it was not working. There should also have been a sprinkler system activated by the alarm to help the fire extinguishing process,

she said

We can't single out just one culprit, unfortunately. Many people weren't doing their jobs properly,

Derya Basyilmaz said

There should have been at least two escape staircases to evacuate the building safely, with fire-resistant doors to keep out the smoke,

she said

Regulations change over time and a fire compliance report is not valid forever. The main problem here is that the inspection was not carried out regularly,

she said

Fire engines must be able to easily reach all four sides of a building,

she said

We couldn’t go two rooms forward, we were out of breath. On top of that, people were bumping into each other. We don’t know who we bumped into. There were children, people were screaming as they collided into each other.”

Describing the chaos in the corridors, Karadag said

Our dear girl. We love you very much. We will never forget you. You will always be sitting in our classroom.”

In Ankara, classmates and teachers gathered to bid farewell to 12-year-old Ayse Maya Dogan and her parents, Aysemin Elif Dogan and Mehmet Cem Dogan, leaving a note on her coffin that read

No fire alarm went off … and there was no fire escape,

Atakan Yelkovan, one of the guests, told the IHA news agency

Ali Yerlikayainterior Minister

We are in deep pain,

Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, told reporters after inspecting the site at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, about 190 miles (300km) east of Istanbul

I was profoundly disturbed. I still cannot forget the image,

he said

I saw one kid hanging from the hotel window calling for help. It was so profoundly disturbing that I didn’t dare look,

he told AFP

I tried to go in but it was hard to breathe,

said Kepcetutan, who knew that

When I arrived, there were flames everywhere and we could hear screams,

said Cevdet Can, who runs a nearby ski school

We got out and saw the flames on the fourth floor and people at the windows shouting for help,

he told AFP

I lost five of my students,

said Kepcetutan, the youngest of whom was six

I don’t know anything about negligence,

said Aykut Aysal, a 35-year-old ski trainer at another hotel

I saw one person jump out of the window - when she saw the flames, she panicked,

he told AFP, saying