Families of Kartalkaya fire victims demand minister's resignation outside hotel

Family members of the victims of the Kartalkaya hotel fire gathered outside the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu on 6 November 2026. The blaze, which broke out on the night of 21 January 2025, killed 78 people, including 36 children.

The demonstration took place while the Turkish Grand National Assembly's Plan and Budget Committee was discussing the Culture and Tourism Ministry's budget. The families, organized under the Kartalkaya Families Platform, demanded that officials from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the Labour and Social Security Ministry, and the Interior Ministry be brought before the judiciary.

“For you 6 November 2026 is like that, but for us it is still 21 January 2025.”

The relatives carried photographs of their lost loved ones and banners reading "Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy resign" and "Turn the Grand Kartal Hotel into a museum of evil." Many were unable to hold back their tears.

Hilmi Altın, who said he survived the hotel by chance and lost his wife and daughter, spoke on behalf of the families. He stated that for the families it remained 21 January 2025, while for others it was 6 November 2026.

Altın said the families had no strength left and called on the Tourism Minister to resign. He noted that a precedent-setting decision in the first case file was under review at the Court of Cassation and that they would follow the ruling.

He also said officials from the three ministries had still not been held accountable. Altın recalled that the Tourism Minister had previously appeared on television describing inspections, but after the fire claimed the ministry had no inspection authority.

The families said they would continue their pursuit of justice at courthouses, including the Council of State, the Court of Cassation, and the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Turkey.