Olympic Skier Loses His Life in Mysterious Hotel Fire in Turkey

Olympic skier Berkin Usta, who represented Turkey at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, died on Thursday after he and his father, Yahya Usta, perished in a hotel fire.

The circumstances surrounding their deaths are mysterious because the ski resort hotel was closed down in January due to a permitting issue with the local government, per the Associated Press. Berkin, 25, was staying on the fifth floor of the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Bursa with his wife, who survived the blaze, and his father. There were also 12 staffers who were also on the premises at the time.

A video on X captured the terrifying flames that reportedly began in the cafeteria, per Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey. TMZ shared Usta's final Instagram Story which featured a fireplace that looked identical to the one in the hotel's restaurant. The blaze took about two hours to knock out.

???????????? Several people dead or injured at a ski resort fire at the Kervansaray Hotel in Turkey. This comes a month after a blaze at another Turkish winter resort that left 81 dead. pic.twitter.com/6YuCeDwtxN

— Terror Alarm (@Terror_Alarm) March 27, 2025

"We conducted an inspection of this hotel in January. We identified deficiencies and shared them with the relevant institutions," Mayor Bozbey said of the hotel's shutdown while noting a full investigation would be conducted in the wake of the tragedy. "There was information that the hotel was closed. It is being investigated why there were 12 people inside. If this is negligence, it must be revealed."

Usta competed in slalom and giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics. He didn't finish in the slalom and placed 43rd in the giant slalom. He last raced in 2023 but stayed close to the sports along with his father, who was the president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association.

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