As flames tore through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey, friends Esra Karakisa and Halime Cetin stood 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.

In the aftermath of the incident, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a day of national mourning to be observed on Wednesday. Rescue teams and local authorities are investigating the cause of the fire,

A fire at a ski resort hotel in Turkey’s Bolu mountains killed at least 76 people on, 2025. Panicked guests were forced to jump out of windows in the middle of the night. Turkey’s interior minister said at least 51 others were injured in the disaster,