Berkin Usta competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
Olympic skier Berkin Usta, who competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and his father died when a hotel fire broke out at a Turkey ski resort on Thursday, March 27.
Berkin was just 25. His father, Yahya Usta, was 57.
The father and son had reportedly been staying on the fifth floor of the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Bursa — with Yahya’s wife, Fikriye, who reportedly survived the tragedy — when the blaze began around 5:30 a.m, per the Associated Press and Washington Post.
A conflicting report from Turkey outlet Boşuna Tıklama said Fikriye did not survive the fire, though that remains unconfirmed.
The Bursa governor’s office told the outlet that the hotel was empty of guests at the time, but 12 staff members remained in the building when the fire broke out in the cafeteria. It remains unclear why the Usta family was staying at the hotel, both outlets reported.
An investigation has been launched and the hotel’s manager was detained. In January, the hotel was reportedly forced to shut down when its accommodation permit was canceled, per the AP.
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It took fire crews approximately two hours to control the flames.
The Kervansaray is located roughly three hours from Istanbul and sits on one of Turkey’s most popular ski destinations.
Turkey sports minster Osman Askin Bak confirmed Usta’s death in a statement on X on Thursday. “I learned with deep sorrow the news that our national athlete Berkin Usta, who represented Türkiye at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and his father Yahya Usta, a former national athlete, passed away in a fire that occurred in Bursa,” he said in a post translated to English.
Bak added, “I wish God’s mercy upon our athletes, and I extend my condolences to their family, loved ones, and the entire sports community. May their resting places be paradise.”
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