Latest news with #TurkishSkiandSnowboardTeachersAssociation
Fox News
28-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Olympic skier Berkin Usta and father killed in fire at closed Turkish ski resort
Olympic alpine skier Berkin Usta, 25, was tragically killed alongside his father in a fire that consumed a closed ski resort in the northwest region of Turkey early Thursday morning. Usta, who represented Turkey at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, was staying at the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, around three hours south of Istanbul, with his family when the blaze first started at around 5:30 a.m. The Bursa governor's office said that 12 staff members were present at the time of the fire, and several people were hospitalized with smoke inhalation. Usta and his father, Yahya Usta – president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association – were killed in the blaze. Yahya Usta's wife is believed to have survived the fire. "We have learned with deep sorrow that our national skier Berkin Usta, who represented our country at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and the Erzurum 2017 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, and his father, former national skier Yahya Usta, passed away due to a hotel fire in Uludağ, Bursa," Team Turkey said in post on X. "We wish God's mercy to our national skier Berkin Usta and his father Yahya Usta, and offer our condolences to his family, loved ones and the sports community." IOC President Thomas Bach also released a statement following the tragic news. "We have learned about the tragic death of Turkish Olympic skier Berkin Usta, and his father, in a terrible fire. Berkin lived his Olympic dream by competing at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in Alpine skiing. Our thoughts are with their family and friends." Local officials believe the fire began in the hotel cafeteria. The family was staying on the fifth floor of the hotel, despite its doors being permanently shut in early January after its accommodation permit was canceled. It was not immediately clear why they were at the hotel. The fire at the six-story, 30-year-old hotel was put out within two hours, but not before the blaze had consumed much of the upper floors. Thursday's deadly fire comes just months after another popular ski resort in the region caught fire, killing 79 people in January. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
The Guardian
28-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Olympic skier Berkin Usta dies aged 24 in fire at winter resort hotel
The Olympic skier Berkin Usta and his father have died in a fire at a shut-down ski resort in Turkey. Berkin, 24, and his father, Yahya, 57, were killed after a blaze broke out on Thursday at the Kervansaray hotel in the country's north-west. Berkin represented Turkey at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, finishing 43rd in the giant slalom, while Yahya was president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association. 'We have learned with deep sorrow that our national skier Berkin Usta, who represented our country at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and the Erzurum 2017 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, and his father, former national skier Yahya Usta, passed away due to a hotel fire in Uludağ, Bursa,' Team Turkey posted on X. The hotel was empty of guests when the fire started at 5.30am but 12 staff members were present. Several people suffering smoke inhalation were hospitalised. Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the blaze, with the hotel manager detained, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. The 30-year-old hotel closed in early January when its accommodation permit was cancelled. Authorities have not said why the pair and Yahya's wife, who survived, were staying there or if any of them were members of staff. Acı KaybımızÜlkemizi Beijing 2022 Kış Olimpiyat Oyunları'nda ve Erzurum 2017 Avrupa Gençlik Olimpik Kış Festivali'nde temsil eden milli kayakçımız Berkin Usta'nın ve babası eski milli kayakçı Yahya Usta'nın Bursa, Uludağ'da gerçekleşen bir otel yangını nedeniyle vefat ettiğini… 'We have learned about the tragic death of Turkish Olympic skier Berkin Usta, and his father, in a terrible fire,' said the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach. 'Berkin lived his Olympic dream by competing at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in Alpine skiing. Our thoughts are with their family and friends.' The mayor of Bursa province, Mustafa Bozbey, told the Associated Press that the the fire had begun in the cafeteria. Television images showed flames quickly engulfing the six-storey hotel, which is located on the slopes of one of Turkey's most popular ski destinations, less than a three-hour drive from Istanbul. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Fire crews brought the blaze under control within two hours but not before the upper floors were gutted. 'I learned with deep sorrow that our national athlete Berkin Usta and his father Yahya Usta lost their lives in the fire that broke out in the hotel,' said Turkey's sports minister, Osman Aşkin Bak. The fire comes two months after a blaze at another winter resort in north-west Turkey left 79 dead. The fire in January at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, in Bolu province's Köroğlu Mountains, started in the hotel's dining area. On Wednesday Anadolu reported new arrests related to the Grand Kartal fire, taking the number of people in detention awaiting trial to 28.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Olympic skier from Turkey and his father killed in hotel fire
An Olympic skier and his father were killed Thursday in a fire at a closed ski resort hotel in northwest Turkey. The victims were identified by The Associated Press as Berkin Usta, 25, a skier who represented Turkey at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, and his father, Yahya Usta, 57, president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association. Turkey's sports minister, Osman Askin Bak, addressed the loss in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'I learned with deep sorrow the news that our national athlete Berkin Usta, who represented Türkiye at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and his father, former national athlete Yahya Usta, passed away in a fire that broke out in Bursa,' he said according to a translation. Outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach also posted on X about the deaths, calling them tragic. Bach wrote, 'Berkin lived his Olympic dream by competing at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in Alpine skiing.' The skier and his father, whose wife, Fikriye, was said to have survived the fire, were all staying on the fifth floor of the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Turkey, according to the AP, even though the hotel had been shut down in early January when its accommodation permit was cancelled. Authorities have not made clear why they were there, the AP reported. The provincial governor's office told reporters a dozen staff members but no guests were at the hotel when the fire began at 5:30 a.m. Several people suffering smoke inhalation were hospitalized. Television coverage of the fire at the 30-year-old hotel, located on the slopes of a popular ski destination less than three hours from Istanbul, showed it was quickly engulfed by flames, according to the AP, which said the upper floors were gutted. An investigation has been launched and the hotel manager has been detained according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. The deadly blaze comes two months after 79 people were killed in a fire that occurred during a school holiday at another Turkish winter resort. An investigation into the January 21 fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya has led to the detention of 28 people who are awaiting trial.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hotel Fire Kills Olympic Skier in Turkey
A fire at a closed ski resort hotel in northwest Turkey on Thursday, March 27, 2025 killed an Olympic skier and his father, only months after a similar incident killed more than 70 people at another Turkish ski hotel, according to several news to the FIS, the 25-year-old son, Berkin Usta, competed in slalom and giant slalom at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games while representing Turkey. In slalom, he didn't finish. In giant slalom, he placed 43rd. Berkin's last recorded race, an FIS slalom in Zagreb-Sljeme, Croatia, was in father, Yahya, was the president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association, the Associated Press reports.'I learned with deep sorrow that our national athlete Berkin Usta and his father Yahya Usta lost their lives in the fire that broke out in the hotel,' Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak said, according to the Associated Press. Yahya, his son, and his wife were staying on the fifth floor of the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Bursa province when the fire broke out. His wife survived the fire began in the hotel's cafeteria area, authorities said, according to the Associated Press. It was contained within two the hotel was closed, there were 12 employees present at 5:30 a.m. when the fire began. Authorities haven't clarified if Yahya and his family were employees or why they were staying at the hotel. After the blaze, several people who inhaled smoke were hospitalized, the Associated Press hotel closed in January after its operating permits were investigation by prosecutors into the cause of the fire is underway. The hotel's manager has been detained, according to the Anadolu Agency, a state-run Turkish deaths of Berkin and Yayha Usta follows another fire at a ski resort hotel—the Grand Kartal in Turkey's Koroglu mountains—which killed more than 70 people in January. The Grand Kartal fire was also said to have started in the new arrests on Wednesday connected to the Grand Kartal fire, 28 people were being held in detention as they awaited trial, the Associated Press reports.
The Independent
27-03-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Olympic skier and father killed in fire at abandoned ski hotel in Turkey
An Olympic skier and his father have been killed in a fire at closed ski resort hotel in northwest Turkey – two months after a blaze at another Turkish winter resort left 79 dead. The victims were named as 25-year-old Berkin Usta, a skier who represented Turkey at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, and his father Yahya Usta, the president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association. 'I learned with deep sorrow that our national athlete Berkin Usta and his father Yahya Usta lost their lives in the fire that broke out in the hotel,' Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak said. The Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Bursa province, was empty of guests when the fire started at 5.30 a.m. but 12 staff were present, Bursa governor's office said. Several people suffering smoke inhalation were hospitalised. Yahya Usta, his son and wife, who survived, were staying on the hotel's fifth floor. Authorities haven't said why they were staying at the hotel or if any of them were members of staff. Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey said that the blaze began in the cafeteria. Prosecutors have launched an investigation. The state-run Anadolu Agency later reported that the hotel manager had been detained. The 30-year-old hotel was shut down in early January when its accommodation permit was cancelled, the governor's office said. Television images showed flames quickly engulfing the six-story hotel, located on the slopes of one of Turkey's most popular ski destinations, less than a three-hour drive from Istanbul. Fire crews brought the blaze under control within two hours, but not before the upper floors had been gutted. In January, a 12-story ski resort hotel in northwestern Turkey went up in flames during a school holiday, killing 79. The fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, in Bolu province's Koroglu mountains, also started in the hotel's dining area.
