Four soldiers have died and another was wounded after a Turkish military helicopter crashed in central Istanbul. The helicopter was conducting training flights at Samandira air base in the city when it crashed in a residential part of the Sancaktepe district on Monday morning.
Emergency services are at the scene of the crash, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. An investigation is now underway into the cause of the crash. The UH-1 military helicopter came down between two apartment buildings, scattering debris across the surrounding streets.
According to Hurriyet newspaper, this is the fifth helicopter crash to happen in Istanbul in the last 20 years.
In March 2017, seven people died when a helicopter hit a television tower on the outskirts of the city. Four Russians were among the dead. Seven people died and eight others were injured in July 2016 when a Turkish military helicopter crashed in the north-east of the country.
This is also the most recent incident involving the death of Turkish soldiers. Earlier this month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly announced seven soldiers had died and 25 more were injured after an ammunition depot exploded in the south-eastern province of Hakkari.
In October, two soldiers reportedly froze to death on an operation near the city of Tunceli.
Credit: BBC
