A fire raged through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey early Tuesday during a school holiday, killing at least 76 people — at least two of them when they jumped from the building to escape the flames,

ANKARA — As the death toll from an overnight fire at a popular ski resort in northwest Turkey rises to 76, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the country will observe a day of national mourning on Wednesday.

Ali Yerlikaya said at least 51 other people were injured in the disaster that struck the Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during the schools' semester break, when hotels in the region are packed.

Turkey has detained nine people as part of an investigation into a fire that killed 76 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in the Bolu mountains, authorities said. Several funerals were held on Wednesday for families,

The death toll from a fire that raged through a hotel at a ski resort in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday has risen to 76, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

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

Tuesday's fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya left at least 79 people dead and 51 injured, happening during a particularly busy season.

A fire at a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday killed at least 66 people, Turkey's Interior Minister said.

Guests said no fire alarms could be heard and there was no sign of firefighters for a long period The fire that killed 78 people at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the early hours of Monday is one of the deadliest disasters of its kind in Turkish history.