Türkiye Detains 11 over Ski Resort Hotel Fire That Killed 79

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya (C) speaks to the media outside a hotel where a fire broke out in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Bolu, northwestern Türkiye, on January 21, 2025. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya (C) speaks to the media outside a hotel where a fire broke out in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Bolu, northwestern Türkiye, on January 21, 2025. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
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Türkiye Detains 11 over Ski Resort Hotel Fire That Killed 79

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya (C) speaks to the media outside a hotel where a fire broke out in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Bolu, northwestern Türkiye, on January 21, 2025. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya (C) speaks to the media outside a hotel where a fire broke out in the Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Bolu, northwestern Türkiye, on January 21, 2025. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)

Türkiye has detained 11 people as part of an investigation into a fire that killed 79 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in the Bolu mountains, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Wednesday.

A deputy mayor of the northwestern Bolu province, the head of the municipality's fire department, the owner and the manager of the hotel were among those detained, Tunc said on X.

Several funerals were held on Wednesday for the victims of Tuesday's blaze, including numerous children. The fire forced panicked hotel guests to jump from windows in the middle of the night.

"Our hearts and souls are hurting," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a funeral for eight victims from the same family in Bolu in western Türkiye.

"I pray for patience for the entire family and our nation."

The bodies of 45 victims were handed over to their families, and forensic DNA tests were being conducted to identify the others, the government said.

Interior Minister on Tuesday had announced that 76 people had been killed in the fire, but the Bolu prosecutor's office updated the death toll to 79 on Wednesday evening following forensic DNA tests.

The fire occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort, a 12-storey hotel which had 238 registered guests. It was consumed by flames after the blaze started on the restaurant floor around 3:30 a.m. (0030 GMT).

Some survivors said they heard no fire alarms during the incident and guests said they had to navigate smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.

The hotel pledged full cooperation with the investigation and said it was "deeply saddened by the losses."

At one funeral in Ankara, the coffins of a family were lined up at the central Ahmet Hamdi Akseki mosque.

The parents, a doctor and teacher, had gone to Kartalkaya with their three children to ski during a school break, according to a Reuters witness at the funeral.

At least 20 of the fire victims were children, according to local media reports.

Erdogan declared Wednesday a day of national mourning following the tragedy, which occurred during the peak of the winter tourism season, with many families from Istanbul and Ankara travelling to the Bolu mountains to ski. 



Ukrainians Worry about Trump Effort to End War with Russia, Though Some Hope for the Best

A flower vendor waits for customers a day before St. Valentine's Day on a street in the city of Kramatorsk, on February 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A flower vendor waits for customers a day before St. Valentine's Day on a street in the city of Kramatorsk, on February 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Ukrainians Worry about Trump Effort to End War with Russia, Though Some Hope for the Best

A flower vendor waits for customers a day before St. Valentine's Day on a street in the city of Kramatorsk, on February 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A flower vendor waits for customers a day before St. Valentine's Day on a street in the city of Kramatorsk, on February 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Ukrainians on Thursday worried that US President Donald Trump was preparing to sell out their country following his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though some expressed cautious hope over his effort to swiftly end the war.

Trump's call to the Russian president - the first by a US leader since Moscow's February 2022 invasion - followed remarks by his defense chief that cast doubt over the full restoration of Ukraine's borders and its aspiration to join the NATO alliance.

"It truly looks as if they want to surrender Ukraine, because I don't see any benefits for our country of these negotiations or Trump's rhetoric," said Kyiv resident Myroslava Lesko, 23, standing near a sea of flags downtown honoring fallen troops.

Ukraine has tried to urgently forge close ties with the new Trump administration, offering a minerals deal to win US favor, while Russian forces, already occupying a fifth of Ukraine, keep up battlefield pressure.

Ukraine wants the White House to back any peace talks with security guarantees that would stop Russia invading again.

The Trump call with Putin on Wednesday and remarks by Pete Hegseth, who said NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and that the US would not be sending in troops as peacekeepers, have shocked some of Kyiv's allies who believe Washington is sacrificing negotiating leverage.

Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after his call with Putin.

In interviews with Reuters, Kyiv residents reacted to the prospect of fast-track peace talks with a mix of dismay and careful optimism.

"Trump is a strong-willed person," said 60-year-old Hryhoriy Buhoyets. "He can decide on whatever he wants, and regarding Ukraine, I think he has some plans."

Maksym Zhorin, deputy commander of the Third Assault Brigade fighting in the war, wrote on the Telegram app that he had not expected Ukraine to receive quick NATO membership anyway.

"NATO is not ready for war with the Russian Federation. This is evident from their reaction to events and behavior," he said.

Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics, said it looked like the Trump administration's views were in fact largely in keeping with those of the previous Joe Biden administration.

Some Ukrainians have expressed frustration that the US under Biden, despite providing billions in military aid, had not done enough to tip the war in Kyiv's favor.

"The difference between Biden and Trump is that Trump says out loud what Biden was thinking and doing about Ukraine," Mylovanov wrote on X.

'FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS'

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Le Monde newspaper in an interview released on Thursday that Ukraine and Europe should not be excluded from future peace talks.

Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told Reuters it would be crucial "to establish systematic contact between Zelenskiy and Trump, so that they talk constantly rather than episodically".

He added that Ukraine should keep pushing for NATO membership despite Hegseth's comments: "Our survival depends on this. We will keep knocking on the door ... until it opens, because we have no other choice."

Another lawmaker urged Ukrainians - many of whom have lost family members in fighting that has killed tens of thousands and ravaged swathes of the country - not to jump to any conclusions after the remarks.

"Ukraine doesn't exist because someone had a good conversation on the phone with someone. We survived because we showed the world that we can fight," said opposition member Oleksii Honcharenko.

Some officials, who have been lavishing praise on Trump in their effort to build relations, have tried to quickly extinguish what one of them described as "too many unnecessary rumors and conspiracy theories".

"A difficult process of fighting for Ukraine lies ahead, and we will go through it in unity," said Daria Zarivna, an adviser to Zelenskiy's chief of staff.

Olena Chiupika, 38, a manager in Kyiv, said Ukraine had already proven successful at securing foreign support that had once seemed unrealistic, citing the F-16 fighter jets provided by allies.

"I'm hoping for the best," she said. "I would like to, because the mood is not great."

The next diplomatic test for Ukraine is expected at the Munich Security Conference this weekend when Zelenskiy is likely to meet US Vice President JD Vance.

Hanna Maliar, a former deputy defense minister, appeared to acknowledge the uncertainty of the moment.

"Fasten your seatbelts. We're taking off," she said shortly after news broke of Trump's call with Putin. "A fascinating journey awaits us. The final destination is so far unknown."