Tragic news out of Turkey where a fire at a closed ski resort hotel in the northwest of the country killed an Olympic skier and his father Thursday, just two months after fire at another Turkish ski resort hotel left 79 dead.
The 6-story 167 room Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Bursa which sits at the base of UludaÄŸ Ski Resort has been shutdown since January when it lost its accommodation permit. The Associated Press reports it was empty of guests when the fire started yesterday at 5:30am but 12 members of its staff were present.
The victims have been identified as Yahya Usta, president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association, and his son Berkin Usta, an Olympic skier who represented Turkey at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
🚨 A deadly fire occurred at the Kervansaray Hotel in northwest Turkey, resulting in one fatality and three injuries, just two months after a similar disaster at another Turkish winter resort claimed 79 lives. pic.twitter.com/PY1VXTT924
— The Tradesman (@The_Tradesman1) March 27, 2025
Fire fighters extinguished the blaze within two hours. Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey reports the fire began in the cafeteria.
In January the 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya, Turkey caught fire during a school holiday and killed 79 people.
Our thoughts are with the victims’ family and friends.
