Olympic Skier Berkin Usta Dead at 25 — Details

Berkin Usta, a 25-year-old Olympic skier, died in a fire that swept through a hotel at a closed ski resort in northwest Turkey on Thursday morning.

His father, Yahya Usta, president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association, also lost his life in the blaze. According to reports, the fire broke out around 5:30 a.m. at the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludağ, located in the Bursa province.

Although the hotel had no guests at the time, 12 staff members were inside. Several people were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, according to officials.

Berkin, his father, and his mother had been staying on the hotel’s fifth floor. The reason for their stay was not confirmed at the time of writing, and it was unclear whether they were affiliated with the hotel staff.

However, conflicting reports have emerged regarding the fate of Yahya’s wife — some sources indicated she survived the fire, while others claimed she did not.

Authorities believe the fire began in the hotel’s cafeteria, according to Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey. Prosecutors have launched an investigation, and the hotel manager has reportedly been detained, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Turkey’s Sports Minister, Osman Askin Bak, confirmed the deaths and offered condolences, saying, “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.”

In early 2022, Berkin proudly represented Turkey at the Beijing Winter Olympics, sharing moments from the global stage with his followers on social media.

On February 2, he posed beneath the iconic Olympic rings, captioning his post with national pride. Just days later, he uploaded a photo from inside the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, where he was bundled in team gear as athletes paraded behind him.”

In another post from the Games, dated February 20, Berkin stood at the ready in his racing suit and skis, moments before taking to the slopes.

Beyond skiing, according to his Instagram bio, the young athlete was also the founder of SkiCraft, a ski school focused on providing high-quality, structured training.

A December 2024 post on the SkiCraft Instagram page celebrated the launch of their winter season and emphasized their “30 years of ski training experience.”

The message also highlighted the presence of two Olympic ski instructors on staff and promised upcoming ski camps and lessons at registration points in Uludağ.

According to reports, the hotel where Berkin and his father lost their lives had been operating under questionable circumstances. The Bursa governor’s office revealed that the 30-year-old building had its accommodation permit canceled earlier in January, rendering it officially closed.

Still, the Kervansaray Hotel remained active in some capacity. Following the tragedy, footage aired by local television stations showed the six-story hotel being quickly consumed by flames.

Though firefighters managed to bring the situation under control within two hours, the upper floors were left gutted. This deadly incident has drawn parallels to another recent tragedy in Turkey.

In January, a fire broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort area in Bolu province, killing 79 people and injuring 51.

The 12-story structure caught fire near the start of Turkey’s two-week school holiday, a time when resorts are often at full capacity. The blaze started in the restaurant section on the fourth floor and quickly spread through the wooden-clad hotel.

Witnesses described horrifying scenes. Esra Karakaşa and Halime Cetin, watching from nearby, said they saw desperate guests hanging out of windows, screaming for help, while others jumped to escape the smoke and flames.

Halime recalled hearing cries for firefighters and the heart-wrenching screams of children. “We wanted to help, but there was nothing we could do,” they said.

Efforts to rescue those trapped inside were complicated by the hotel’s location — part of the building stood on the edge of a cliff. Baris Salgur, a hotel cleaner, was among those who rushed to help.

He described the harrowing sight of a man holding a baby and shouting for a mattress. Although firefighters eventually arrived, the infant tragically died from smoke inhalation.

Turkey’s Tourism Minister, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, revealed the Grand Kartal had undergone inspections in both 2021 and 2024, with no reported fire safety issues at the time. Nevertheless, the Bolu chief prosecutor’s office launched an investigation, and several arrests followed.

By late January, 28 individuals were in custody, including the hotel’s owner, the local deputy mayor, and Bolu’s acting fire chief. The scale of the disaster prompted a national day of mourning, with flags lowered at government buildings and Turkish embassies worldwide.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan traveled to Bolu to attend the funeral of eight members of the Gültekin family, who were related to a member of his ruling party. Addressing mourners, he said, “Our hearts are broken. May God grant us patience.”

Berkin’s tragic passing adds to a string of recent losses in the athletic world. In September 2024, Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, 33, tragically passed away after she was admitted to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County. The Ugandan marathon runner’s admittance followed a vicious attack by her former boyfriend.

Dr. Owen Menach — the acting CEO of MTRH and Director of Clinical Services and Surgery — confirmed that Cheptegei died at 5 a.m. in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) from what he dubbed full organ failure.

He also emphasized how saddened he and other medical professionals are by the tragic news, adding, “[We] were doing our best to save her life.”

Cheptegei’s family member, Dr. Tony Sabila, confirmed the date of her passing as September 5, while speaking to Nation Sport.

“It is true that we lost our sister this morning although the doctors tried to save her life and I was there personally,” divulged Dr. Sabila.

Cheptegei had been in the ICU as a result of suffering severe burns from open flames that overtook her whole body. Nation Sport revealed that her burns covered 80% of her body.

Due to the extent of the burns, Cheptegei was fully sedated and intubated. She was also on full life support for blood, fluids, and medication, and had to use a ventilator for breathing.

Before she lost her life, the Kenyan government announced their plan to transport Cheptegei to Nairobi, via an airlift, for specialized treatment. They announced this on September 4.

Principal Secretary for Sports, Peter Tum, divulged that the transportation plan had been confirmed after discussions were held with Peter Ogwang, who is the Sports Minister of Uganda. However, Cheptegei died before they could see the plan through.

Athletics Kenya President and Vice-President of World Athletics, Jack Tuwei, weighed in on the tragedy and condemned what happened. His statement also revealed that Cheptegei had been harmed by her former boyfriend over a property dispute.

BBC reported that the ex set her alight after dousing her with petrol. According to north-west Kenyan authorities, this happened on Sunday, September 1, while Cheptegei, who competed in the Paris Olympics, was on her way home from church.

“As a federation, we want to condemn this in the strongest possible terms because this is not the way we should live,” noted Tuwei at the end of his message.

Ugandan lawyer and professor Donald Rukare took to X to pen his own statement addressing the athlete’s death.

He expressed, “We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei OLY following a vicious attack by her boyfriend. May her gentle soul rest in peace and we strongly condemn violence against women.”

The rest of his message went on to discuss how senseless and cowardly the attack was. He concluded by saying that although Cheptegei’s life has been lost, her legacy will live on.

Rukare had previously shared a tweet about Cheptegei’s ex-boyfriend’s attack on September 3. At the time, he encouraged the public to pray and hope that she would make a full recovery while she was in the hospital.