Berkin Usta and his father were killed after a hotel fire broke out at a Turkish ski resort on Thursday, March 27. Usta was an Olympic skier who competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Berkin was only 25. His father, Yahya Usta, was aged 57.

The father and son were apparently living on the fifth floor of the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Bursa, with Yahya’s wife, Fikriye, who survived the tragedy, when the fire broke out at 5:30 a.m., according to the Associated Press and the Washington Post.

According to Boşuna Tıklama, Fikriye died in the fire; however, this assertion is not proven.

The Bursa governor’s office informed the source that the hotel was unoccupied at the time, but 12 employees stayed inside when the fire broke out in the restaurant. Both publications said that the reason for the Usta family’s stay at the motel is unknown.

We have initiated an inquiry and detained the hotel’s management. According to the Associated Press, the hotel was forced to close in January when its lodging authorization was terminated.

The flames were brought under control by firefighters after about two hours.

The Kervansaray is around three hours from Istanbul and situated atop one of Turkey’s most prominent ski resorts.

Osman Askin Bak, Turkey’s sports minister, confirmed Usta’s death in a statement to 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 stated in an English-language post.

Bak said, “I pray for God’s compassion on our players and express my condolences to their families, loved ones, and the whole sports community.” May their resting places be paradise.”