Four soldiers die as stricken helicopter hits block of flats
FOUR soldiers were killed and a fifth was fighting for his life last night after a helicopter struck an apartment block before plunging on to surburban wasteland.
Turkish officials launched an investigation after the stricken aircraft came down during a routine training exercise above the city of Istanbul.
Defence minister Hulusi Akar, who visited the scene yesterday, said that no members of the public were injured.
He added: “These heroic aviation personnel of ours made an effort to make an emergency landing for reasons we do not yet know.
“It is understood that they made a great effort to do this without hurting anyone.” Witnesses said the wreckage of the UH-1 was lying in two parts on a street in the Asian side of the city.
Rescue workers scoured the scene and debris was scattered across hundreds of yards.
The dead included two officers and two non-commissioned officers, while the survivor, who was taken to intensive care, was said to be a sergeant.
It is believed the helicopter was bound for a nearby airbase when it hit the roof of the apartment block. The UH-1 – nicknamed Rescue workers and police at the scene of the crash yesterday the “Huey” – is a US-manufactured utility military craft. More than 16,000 have been built since 1960.
The accident is understood to be the fifth helicopter crash in Turkey in 20 years.
In March last year, seven people – including four Russians – died when a Sikorsky helicopter hit a television tower on the edge of Istanbul on a foggy day. Seven people were killed and eight were injured two years ago when a Turkish military aircraft crashed in the north-east of the country.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent his condolences to the bereaved families after the crash and wished a speedy recovery for the injured soldier.
However, he would not be drawn on what led to the incident.
In recent years the country has stepped up security, although the state of emergency has officially come to an end.