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Russian firefighting plane crashes in S Turkey, all 8 people onboard killed: Ministry

A video screenshot showing the general view of the wreckage of a Russian Be-200 aircraft after it crashed in Turkey, on August 14, 2021. (AFP)

A Russian firefighting plane has crashed in southern Turkey, killing all eight people onboard, the Russian defense ministry says.

In a statement on Saturday, the Russian defense ministry said that the Be-200ChS aircraft of the Russian Naval Aviation crashed near Adana province in southern Turkey at around 3:10 p.m. Moscow time (13:30 GMT), the TASS news agency reported.

It added the water-dropping plane carried five Russian servicemen and three Turkish citizens, saying that all people onboard lost their lives in the crash, which occurred while the aircraft was trying to land following a firefighting mission.

The ministry added that a Russian Defense Ministry commission, as well as some employees of the Russian Embassy in Turkey, was heading to the crash site to investigate the causes of the tragedy.

According to Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency, the ill-fated amphibious plane had been rented by Turkey from Russia to help Turkey’s General Directorate of Forestry extinguish raging wildfires that have swept across the country, particularly the southern province of Kahramanmaras, in recent weeks.

Governor Omer Faruk Coskun told Anadolu that a large number of search and rescue teams had been dispatched to the crash site.

The Be-200 aircraft, which is designed specifically for fighting fires, had been sent to Turkey on July 8. It can carry up to 12 tons of water.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he is “deeply saddened” by the loss of the Turkish and Russian crew in the tragic plane crash. “Their heroic sacrifices will not be forgotten!” Anadolu further quoted him as saying.


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