President Ersin Tatar visited Adıyaman and the debris of the Isias Hotel where the TRNC-based Champion Angels volleyball team lost their lives following the catastrophic earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye on February 6, 2023.
Making a statement to the press, President Ersin Tatar stated that the earthquakes have been described as the “Disaster of the Century”, which killed tens of thousands of people in major cities and villages in Anatolia, including the Champion Angels team, some of their parents and teachers of the Türk Maarif College of Gazimağusa.
They were paying a visit to Türkiye to participate in a Volleyball tournament, and were staying at the İsias Hotel building at the time, when the structure had collapsed in the earthquakes. 
President Tatar said: “The Turkish Cypriot People have since continued to suffer the deep pain and bereavement at such a loss of life, and feel the heartfelt sorrow together with their families.   The devastating earthquakes claimed the lives of 53,000 people.  We have ever since been in a state of mourning along with the rest of the Turkish nation. May those who lost their lives rest in eternal peace and may Allah give patience and strength to their families and loved ones to cope with this terrible loss.”
The President added: “Our nation has sunk in deep sorrow with the crumbling of the Isias Hotel and we still carry this pain in our hearts.  We shall continue to feel this pain as long as we live.   February 6 has inflicted on us all a great pain and suffering for the Turkish Cypriot people.”
President Tatar said: “It is not easy to accept the significant number of so many deaths of children – who died following the collapse of the building. This pain will always be in our hearts.”
Acknowledging that those who died were commemorated with various ceremonies in Türkiye and the TRNC last week on the first-year anniversary of the earthquakes, President Tatar said that they visited the graves of the Champion Angels as well as the graves of other people who were lost in the earthquakes and that a joint commemoration ceremony was held.
President Tatar stated that he is sharing the pain with the people of Adıyaman here again today, and said that he remembered clearly, as if it was yesterday, the events and the meetings he had held with the Adıyaman governor, mayor and the then Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ, on the morning of February 6, 2023. “We suffered this pain together which brought us closer. The date February 6, 2023 will always be in our hearts,” President Tatar said. “Every year, we shall remember those we lost together. Our pain is great, our sorrow is a reflection of the pain of our nation," he said.
President Tatar also recalled that as a result of the evaluations made immediately after the earthquakes, the Security Forces, Civil Defence Organisation,  many healthcare workers and volunteers were dispatched or came voluntarily to Adıyaman to help in the extraordinary effort to save lives that fatal week.  However, President Tatar said it had become apparent that nobody was found alive under the rubble.
Referring to the ongoing Isias Hotel legal case,  President Tatar said:  “There is a judicial process underway.  A hearing was held last week. Our Prime Minister, our MPs, families. . .were all here. Everyone is watching this process closely.  We are very sensitive on this issue because the bereaved families are anxious for justice to be served on behalf of their children. Of course, the independent judiciary of the Republic of Türkiye will do its utmost to ensure justice is served. The results of many reports following rigid investigations are being submitted.   The families have reasons to believe that there was a 'bad intention' (neglect) in this incident. When you actually look at the debris and the buildings around it, the surrounding buildings are standing. However, this building turned into a pile of dust and lives were lost here.”
Underlining their trust in the independent judiciary of Türkiye, President Tatar said that his biggest wish is for lessons to be learnt from this tragedy, and that appropriate measures are put into place for future constructions of buildings to prevent such disasters from re-occurring.
Noting that there have also been investigations into the buildings and structures in the TRNC – as the Island of Cyprus lies on fault lines, President Tatar underlined the need to take all necessary precautions and measures. He explained that there is a secondary fault-line stretching from the Anatolia plate down from the İskele, Gazimağusa and Paphos regions of the Island of Cyprus.
Following the visit to the debris of the Isias Hotel, President Tatar visited the Earthquake Martyrs’ Cemetery in Adıyaman where he laid  flowers on the graves and took part in prayers held for those who died in the earthquakes.