Fire
A fire at the Kervansaray Hotel at the Uludag ski resort in northwestern Turkey claimed the lives of former Olympic skier Berkin Usta and his father, Yahya Usta. The blaze, which erupted around 5:30 a.m. local time Thursday, comes just two months after a similar tragedy at another Turkish winter resort that left 79 dead.
Berkin Usta, 25, who represented Turkey at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and his father, Yahya, 57, president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association, were staying on the hotelโs fifth floor when the fire broke out. The Kervansaray Hotel, a 30-year-old establishment, had been closed to guests since January following the cancellation of its accommodation permit.
SON DAKฤฐKA | Bursa Uludaฤโdaki bir otelde yangฤฑn รงฤฑktฤฑ. 2 kiลi hayatฤฑnฤฑ kaybetti.
(Milliyet)#uludag pic.twitter.com/Kyd15WpiU7
โ mรผhendisyen (@muhendisyenn) March 27, 2025
Despite the absence of guests, 12 staff members were present at the time of the incident. Several individuals were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, with authorities reporting four injuries in addition to the two fatalities.
Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey stated that the fire originated in the hotelโs cafeteria, eerily mirroring the cause of the January blaze at the Grand Kartal Hotel in nearby Bolu province. Firefighters managed to bring the inferno under control within two hours, but not before it had gutted the upper floors of the six-story structure.
โIn our city, the fire that broke out in the cafeteria section of a hotel located in the Uludaฤ Hotels Region today (Thursday, March 27, 2025) morning hours, was intervened by our Fire Department within 3 minutes with 25 vehicles and 60 personnel upon receiving the report that reached our units at 05.29.
As a result of the work carried out in coordination with the Gendarmerie and AFAD units, the fire was brought under control and according to initial reports, cooling efforts are continuing for the fire, which resulted in 1 death and 4 injuries.
We wish Godโs mercy upon our deceased citizen, patience to his relatives, and wish a speedy recovery to our citizens affected by the fire.โ
โ Mustafa Bozbey, Bursa Mayor
Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak expressed his condolences, saying, โI learned with deep sorrow that our national athlete Berkin Usta and his father Yahya Usta lost their lives in the fire that broke out in the hotel in Uludag.โ Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the fire.
The state-run Anadolu news agency reported fresh arrests related to the January Bolu fire on Wednesday, bringing the total number of individuals in detention awaiting trial to 28.
Berkin Usta was a Turkish Olympic alpine skier born in Bursa, Turkey, on May 29, 2000. He competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and participated in several international events, including the 2017 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival.
