12 dead as helicopter crashes just moments after take off in Turkey
ALL 12 people aboard a helicopter are dead after it crashed in south-east Turkey, the interior ministry has said.
The scene of the helicopter crash in Turkey
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said that search and rescue teams were sent to the area after the police helicopter's signal was lost.
He said the accident was caused by bad weather conditions.
He said: “Any other outside factor is out of the question,” which appeared to rule out that the Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk helicopter had come under attack.
Wreckage of the helicopter that crashed in Turkey
The helicopter disappeared 10 minutes after taking off from the town of Pulumur, in Tunceli province, the regional governor's office said.
It had been carrying seven police officers, a judge, a soldier and three crew.
No signals were received from the Sikorsky helicopter approximately 10 minutes after it took off.
The police helicopter crash site
In March, seven people were killed, including four Russians, when a privately owned helicopter crashed in Istanbul after hitting a television tower.