Turkish Military Helicopter Crashes in Malatya, Four Killed
Four Turkish soldiers were killed when an S-70 military helicopter crashed near Samankoy village in Malatya province, Türkiye’s Defense Ministry announced.
ERBIL (Kurdsitan24) - A Turkish military helicopter crashed in Malatya province, killing four soldiers, Türkiye’s Defense Ministry announced, as rescue, firefighting and military teams rushed to a site where a fire had broken out.
According to an official statement from the ministry, the army’s S-70 helicopter went down at 6:45 p.m. near Samankoy village, part of the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province, in Northern Kurdistan (Southwest of Türkiye). The cause of the crash remains unknown.
The ministry said the relevant teams reached the wreckage and immediately launched search and rescue operations.
Right after the crash, large numbers of personnel from the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, the 112 emergency service and firefighting units were dispatched to the area.
Media reports said a limited fire broke out around the wreckage. Firefighters brought it under control quickly and extinguished it.
Security forces and military officials at the scene began a detailed investigation. Turkish authorities were initially expected to release more details on the cause of the crash and the fate of those on board within hours.
The Defense Ministry later confirmed the deaths in an updated statement.
“As a result of the crash of one of our S-70 military helicopters in Malatya province for an unknown reason, we lost four of our soldiers,” the ministry said.
The ministry offered its condolences to the victims’ families and to Türkiye’s armed forces. The investigation into what caused the crash is continuing.