The public prosecutor’s office in Malatya has prepared an indictment against several suspects, including the former deputy mayor of Battalgazi Municipality, in relation to the hotel collapse in the Dabakhane neighborhood of the Battalgazi district central to Malatya. The suspects are accused of causing the death and injury of multiple individuals due to conscious negligence. The indictment has been accepted by the 5th Heavy Penal Court.
The indictment notes that the hotel, which collapsed in the initial earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş, resulted in the death of 21 people and injury of 3 others. The hotel was reported to have been built in 1994.
Following the earthquake, a team of experts appointed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted an examination of the building to assess its condition. Samples of the columns and beams were taken for analysis and preservation. Reports were prepared by expert teams from Atatürk University and Karadeniz Technical University.
The indictment provides details of the expert reports, indicating that the building was designed with a basement, ground floor, and 7 additional floors. It was mentioned that the building underwent renovations in 2006, and the architectural renovation project from that year did not include information about the basement and ground floor, making it difficult to determine if any renovations had been carried out on those levels.
The indictment highlighted deficiencies in the architectural and structural projects of the Kırçuval Hotel building, stating that the concrete materials used were inadequate. It was noted that there were discrepancies in the number of columns between the original and renovation structural projects, which should have required updated structural calculations for approval.
The Malatya Büyükşehir Belediyespor team, comprising players from the Men’s Volleyball 2nd League, tragically lost several teammates in the hotel collapse during the earthquake. A total of 11 individuals, including players from Iran and Cameroon, lost their lives, while 4 others were injured. The trial of the defendants is set to begin in the coming days.
