Waitress Who Jumped from 12th Floor Window Becomes 78th Victim of Turkish Ski Resort Blaze: Reports

Mar. 15, 2025

Grand Kartal Hotel sealed with security tape.Photo:Evrim Aydin/Anadolu via Getty

Evrim Aydin/Anadolu via Getty

A waitress has reportedly become the 78th victim of ablaze that ripped through a ski resort in Turkeyon Tuesday, Jan. 21,Sevval Sahin, 25, died in intensive care on Wednesday, Jan. 22, according to theAssociated Press. She reportedly jumped from a 12th-floor window at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya, in the northwestern province of Bolu while it was on fire.Sahin also reportedly called her father to seek advice before she jumped out and had only worked at the resort for just over a month, according to local outletT24 news.The outlet added that Turkish officials had revised the official death toll to 78 as a result, with a further 51 injured.ABC Newsalso confirmed the number on Thursday, Jan. 23, citing “Turkish officials.““Şevval called her father that night, ‘Dad, what am I going to do?’ " Sahin’s cousin Murat Bakır told T24. “Her father said, ‘Don’t jump, my daughter,’ " he added.“Then, after talking for 10 minutes, the phone was cut off. Her friends who were with her also passed away,” continued Bakır.The Grand Kartal Hotel.Sercan Ozkurnazli/ dia images via GettyPEOPLE previously reported that 11 people,including the hotel’s owner, had been detained in connection with the fire.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.This included “the Deputy Mayor of Bolu Municipality Fire Department, the Director of Bolu Municipality Fire Department, the business owner, the general manager of the company and the hotel manager,” Turkish Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunçwrote on Xon Wednesday.He added that the investigations, which involve a “7-person expert committee,” are ongoing.Funeral prayers for 8 people who lost their lives in the hotel fire on Jan. 22, 2025.Sercan Ozkurnazli/ dia images via GettyTurkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that more than 230 guests were staying at the hotel at the time of the fire, theAPpreviously reported.Many of these were children vacationing with their families during a semester break, added local newspaperSözcü. Tragically, whole families died in the fire, according to local outletsSerbestiyet, theHürriyet Daily NewsandTurkish Minute.

A waitress has reportedly become the 78th victim of ablaze that ripped through a ski resort in Turkeyon Tuesday, Jan. 21,

Sevval Sahin, 25, died in intensive care on Wednesday, Jan. 22, according to theAssociated Press. She reportedly jumped from a 12th-floor window at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya, in the northwestern province of Bolu while it was on fire.

Sahin also reportedly called her father to seek advice before she jumped out and had only worked at the resort for just over a month, according to local outletT24 news.

The outlet added that Turkish officials had revised the official death toll to 78 as a result, with a further 51 injured.ABC Newsalso confirmed the number on Thursday, Jan. 23, citing “Turkish officials.”

“Şevval called her father that night, ‘Dad, what am I going to do?’ " Sahin’s cousin Murat Bakır told T24. “Her father said, ‘Don’t jump, my daughter,’ " he added.

“Then, after talking for 10 minutes, the phone was cut off. Her friends who were with her also passed away,” continued Bakır.

The Grand Kartal Hotel.Sercan Ozkurnazli/ dia images via Getty

Sercan Ozkurnazli/ dia images via Getty

PEOPLE previously reported that 11 people,including the hotel’s owner, had been detained in connection with the fire.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

This included “the Deputy Mayor of Bolu Municipality Fire Department, the Director of Bolu Municipality Fire Department, the business owner, the general manager of the company and the hotel manager,” Turkish Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunçwrote on Xon Wednesday.

He added that the investigations, which involve a “7-person expert committee,” are ongoing.

Funeral prayers for 8 people who lost their lives in the hotel fire on Jan. 22, 2025.Sercan Ozkurnazli/ dia images via Getty

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that more than 230 guests were staying at the hotel at the time of the fire, theAPpreviously reported.

Many of these were children vacationing with their families during a semester break, added local newspaperSözcü. Tragically, whole families died in the fire, according to local outletsSerbestiyet, theHürriyet Daily NewsandTurkish Minute.

source: people.com