As flames tore through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey, friends Esra Karakisa and Halime Cetin watched helpless as the horror unfolded before them, with people leaning out of smoke-filled rooms pleading for help and others making the harrowing decision to jump.

The fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel, in Kartalkaya, in the Koroglu mountains in Bolu province, on Tuesday left at least 76 people dead and 51 injured

Atakan Yelkovan was staying at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, Turkey, when a fire broke out in the restaurant and quickly spread - killing at least 76 people

A tragic fire occurred at the Kartalkaya ski resort in the northwestern part of Turkey. The death toll has already risen to 76 people, including entire families and many children. A national day of mourning has been declared in the country.

Officials in Turkey say that a fire has raged through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in the northwestern part of the country during a school holiday, killing at least 76 people.

The 12-story Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province was completely destroyed by a massive fire overnight, with 234 guests staying there at the time of the fire

The fire broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya early on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Witnesses have described standing helplessly and paralyzed by the horror of people screaming for help or jumping out of windows as flames tore through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort