Turkish prosecutors have demanded long prison sentences for 32 suspects in connection with the fire at a hotel in a Turkish ski resort that killed nearly 80 people, the Turkish website OdaTV reported, quoted by BTA.
According to the indictment prepared by the Bolu District Chief Prosecutor's Office, 13 people - including the hotel owner, his wife and two daughters, the general manager, the deputy mayor of Bolu, the deputy fire chief and a firefighter - are accused of "murder with possible intent" and each could face up to 1,998 years in prison.
Another 19 suspects, including technical staff, kitchen workers and external maintenance staff, face up to 22 and a half years in prison on charges of "causing death and injury through deliberate negligence".
The indictment alleges that the hotel did not have an audible fire alarm and that its emergency plan was inadequate, the Turkish newspaper "Ministry" reported. Prosecutors say the staff were not trained and contributed to the spread of the fire by opening the main doors to the parking lot.
Seventy-eight people died in the fire on January 21 at the "Grand Kartal" hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in the northwestern Turkish province of Bolu. The fire broke out during the school winter break, when the hotel was hosting 238 guests. Many of them tried to escape by jumping out of windows or lowering themselves from their rooms using ropes made of sheets.