11 troops killed in helicopter crash in SE Turkey: Ministry
Eleven Turkish forces are killed after their military helicopter crashes in tumultuous weather in the country's southeast, Turkey’s Defense Ministry says.
The incident took place on Thursday, the ministry said, adding that contact with the aircraft was lost in Bitlis Province 30 minutes after it had taken off. It identified the aircraft as a Cougar multi-purpose helicopter.
Television images from the site, meanwhile, showed the ground blanketed with snow and visibility hampered by thick clouds hanging over the mountainous region.
Lawmaker Tolga Agar from the ruling Justice and Development Party named one of the fatalities as Lieutenant General Osman Erbas, head of the Turkish army's 8th Corps.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his condolences. "I pray for Allah's mercy for our nine martyrs... Our pain is great," Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin had tweeted earlier, when the death toll had been put at nine.
Turkish media reports said Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, and senior military figures were travelling to the site of the crash.
Iran’s Ambassador to Ankara, Mohammad Farazmand, also offered his condolences to the Turkish government and people, including the bereaved families, over the “painful” incident. Farazmand also wished swift recovery for those injured in the crash.
The area where the incident occurred is subject to regular Turkish military patrols and missions against Kurdish militants.
In 2017, a military helicopter crashed in the southeastern Sirnak Province near Turkey's border with Syria and Iraq, killing 13 troops.
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