Turkey to demolish hotel hit by fire with 79 deaths

Turkey has decided to demolish the Grand Kartal hotel, where 79 people died in a fire. This was reported by Nobetci newspaper on Wednesday, January 22.

The decision to demolish was taken after the examination of the building. Specialists found that the main load-bearing columns of the hotel were seriously damaged, making the building unusable.

As the newspaper specified, the area will be renovated after the demolition.

The timing of the start of demolition will be announced in the coming days, the newspaper added.

A large-scale fire at the resort in Bolu occurred on the night of January 21. According to CNN Türk, the fire started in a wooden hotel located at an altitude of 2,200 meters. It was specified that there were almost 240 guests in the burning building. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared January 22 a day of mourning in the country after the fire.

The Russian Embassy in Turkey said that there were no reports of Russians staying at the resort. At the same time, the diplomatic mission indicated that it remains in touch with the local authorities.

A total of at least 79 people died in the incident.