Ten people have been killed and three more injured after a military helicopter crashed in south-east Turkey on Thursday, the country's Defence Ministry said.
"One of our four heroic comrades who were injured in the helicopter crash in Tatvan could not be saved, and he died, despite everything possible done in the hospital. The number of our martyrs has increased to 10. We wish the mercy of Allah to our heroic martyrs," the ministry said on Twitter.
Tatvan’da meydana gelen helikopter kazasında yaralanan 4 kahraman silah arkadaşımızdan biri daha hastanede yapılan tüm müdahalelere rağmen kurtarılamayarak şehit olmuştur. Şehit sayımız 10’a yükselmiştir. Kahraman şehitlerimize Allah’tan rahmet diliyoruz.
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) March 4, 2021
Earlier in the day, it reported that nine officers were killed and four more injured in the crash.
"Communication with the helicopter that took off from Bingol to Tatvan at 13.55 [10.55 GMT] was lost at 14.25 [11:25 GMT]. Immediately, unmanned aerial vehicles, a CN-235 aircraft and a helicopter were sent in search. As a result, it was established that the helicopter had crashed. On the scene of its fall, nine dead and four injured were found," the ministry said in a statement.
Bingöl'den Tatvan'a gitmek üzere saat 13.55’te kalkış yapan Kara Kuvvetlerimize ait Cougar tipi bir helikopter ile saat 14.25’te irtibat kesilmiş, helikopterdeki kahraman silah arkadaşlarımızdan 9’unun şehit olduğu, 4’ünün yaralandığı belirlenmiştir.https://t.co/JWXwGALB5a pic.twitter.com/MfCOZEYE9g
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) March 4, 2021
An operation is underway to transfer the injured to the hospital.
MSB: Yaralı personelimizin hastaneye sevk edilmelerine yönelik çalışmalar devam etmektedir https://t.co/igCML1WRjM pic.twitter.com/geGZbjM1dZ
— Sputnik Türkiye (@sputnik_TR) March 4, 2021
The causes of the disaster are not reported.