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Olympic skier Berkin Usta and his father, Yahya Usta, died after a hotel fire on Friday, March 28. They were 24 and 57, respectively.
“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,” Osman Askin Bak, Turkey’s sports minister, said in a statement to the Associated Press.
Berkin and his dad, who was the president of the Turkish Ski and Snowboard Teachers Association, had been staying at the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag in the Bursa province. According to the AP, additional hotel guests and staff members were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
Berkin represented his native Turkey in the 2022 Olympics in the slalom and giant slalom events.
“We have learned with deep sorrow that our national skier Berkin Usta, who represented our country at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and the Erzurum 2017 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, and his father, former national skier Yahya Usta, passed away due to a hotel fire in Uludağ, Bursa,” Team Turkey wrote via X later on Friday.
The statement added, “We wish God’s mercy to our national skier Berkin Usta and his father Yahya Usta, and offer our condolences to his family, loved ones and the sports community.”
Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, also issued a statement mourning the deaths of the father-son pair.
“We have learned about the tragic death of Turkish Olympic skier Berkin Usta and his father in a terrible fire,” Bach said. “Berkin lived his Olympic dream by competing at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in Alpine skiing. Our thoughts are with their family and friends.”
Berkin was no longer skiing competitively and last owned a team called Skicraft, per his Instagram bio. He last posted on social media in February, capturing a group pic on the slopes with the hashtag “Team.”
Many social media users have memorialized Berkin via the comments section.
“May Allah give patience to his family, may he rest in Heaven,” one commenter wrote in Turkish on Friday.
Another added, “How painful it is that we don’t recognize a national athlete who represented our country in the Olympics after his death. Rest in peace.”
A third fan noted they were “deeply shocked” to hear about Berkin’s death.
“I am deeply shocked to hear that he lost his life in that hotel,” the message read. “How unexpected and cruel life can be. RIP, Olympian. May you rest in peace. 🕊️.”
