MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The crash, which occurred in the Buyukcekmece district, in Istanbul's European part, was announced by the head of the suburb early in the day, who stated that five passengers were killed in the incident.
"There is preliminary information that five bodies have been found. The helicopter fell directly on the road, there were no cars on the road. The fog is strong, absolutely nothing is visible," district Mayor Hasan Akgun said in a broadcast on Turkey's NTV refuting media reports that the vehicle was a firefighting helicopter.
The helicopter, which was owned by Turkey’s Eczacibasi industrial group, was confirmed to have been carrying four Russian nationals by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"Turkey — five people, including four Russians, dead," the ministry's crisis management department posted on its Twitter feed.
It said two more people were injured in the crash.
The information was confirmed by Eczacibasi chairman Bulent Eczabicasi, who stated the Russians were on a business trip to visit a company factory in the town of Bozuyuk.
The Turkish Transport Ministry later stated the cause of the crash was a collision with a TV tower in poor visibility conditions.
Photographs from the site of events indicated the helicopter had disintegrated, with pieces scattered on the road.
