Turkish court sentences 11 to life imprisonment for deadly hotel fire

ISTANBUL, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- A Turkish court on Friday sentenced 11 people to life imprisonment for a deadly hotel fire at a ski resort that killed 78 people in the northwestern province of Bolu in January.

The Bolu 1st High Criminal Court convicted the hotel owner Halit Ergul, his wife and two daughters, hotel managers, a deputy mayor, and a deputy fire chief, of negligence with probable intent to kill. They were each sentenced to life imprisonment for the deaths of 34 children and received an additional 25 years for the deaths of 44 adults in the fire.

The defendants denied the accusations and were expected to appeal the decision.

The trial involved a total of 32 defendants. Besides the 11 people, 18 others, most of them hotel employees, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12 to 22 years, while three were acquitted, according to Turkish media.

The blaze erupted on Jan. 21 at the 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel during the winter school holiday. As well as the 78 dead, 137 people were injured. ■