Olympic skier Berkin Usta was identified as one of the 79 people killed in a fire at a closed ski resort in northwest Turkey earlier this year, the Associated Press reports.
The blaze was reported at Grand Kartal, a 12-story hotel early in the morning on January 21. Usta, who represented Turkey in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games in the slalom and giant slalom, was the son of Yahya Usta who, along with his wife, survived the fire despite staying on the fifth floor with his son.
“I learned with deep sorrow that our national athlete Berkin Usta and his father Yahya Usta lost their lives in the fire that broke out in the hotel,” Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak said via the Associated Press.
The hotel was reported to be empty of guests when the blaze started at 5:30 a.m. local time on January 21, but 12 staff members were present, according to the Bursa Governor's Office. Several other individuals were reported to have suffered smoke inhalation.
The hotel has since closed after its operating permits were canceled in January. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
The hotel's manager was reportedly detained in relation to the fire, the Anadolu Agency, a Turkish state-run media outlet, reported via Powder.com.