78 victims from the resort fire/ 11 people sentenced to life imprisonment

A Turkish court today sentenced 11 defendants to life in prison over a fire that killed 78 people at a ski resort in the Bolu mountains of northwestern Turkey in January.

Halit Ergul, owner of the Grand Kartal Hotel where the fire broke out, was among 11 defendants who were sentenced to life imprisonment by the court in Bolu province, according to state broadcaster TRT Haber.

Thirty-four children were among those killed in the fire, which occurred during school holidays when many families from nearby Istanbul and Ankara go to the Bolu mountains to ski. Another 137 people were injured.

A total of 32 defendants were on trial, 20 of whom were in custody. In addition to Ergul, the defendants included hotel board members, managers and staff, as well as a deputy mayor and fire department personnel.

Independent experts said the hotel, in the Kartalkaya ski resort, lacked basic fire safety measures.

The fire started on the restaurant floor of the 12-story building, where 238 guests were staying. It forced panicked hotel guests to jump out of windows in the middle of the night./ CNA, translated by Reuters

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