A military helicopter crashed in the northern province of Giresun, which is near the Black Sea, on Tuesday, killing seven, including senior commanders, and injuring eight others.
Eight senior gendarmerie officials, accompanied by their wives and children, were returning after celebrating the Eid al-Fitr, three-day Muslim holiday which started on Tuesday, with their the families of slain soldiers. The Sikorsky S-70 crashed in the Tomurcuk Plateau. The cause of the crash is unclear at the moment, while officials cited poor weather conditions.
Search and rescue teams and ambulances were dispatched to the neighborhood. However, rocky area and foggy weather hobbled rescue efforts.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke with Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar to be briefed on the issue. Akar reportedly told Erdoğan that the crash was stemmed from weather conditions.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım told the media that there was no possibility of terrorism involvement in the incident. Yıldırım added that further examinations would reveal the cause, while weather conditions appeared to be the most likely reason.