The Cougar Mystery That Killed 40 Turkish Soldiers meforum.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from meforum.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
ANKARA, TURKEY An army helicopter crashed in eastern Turkey on Thursday, killing 11 military personnel on board and injuring two others, the Defence Ministry said. News reports said a high-ranking officer was among the victims. The Cougar type helicopter crashed near the village of Cekmece, close to the town of Tatvan, in the predominantly Kurdish-populated Bitlis province. It was on its way to Tatvan from the nearby province of Bingol when authorities lost contact with it at 2:25 pm (1125 GMT), the ministry said. The victims included Lt. Gen. Osman Erbas, an army corps commander, said Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkey s main nationalist party, on Twitter. Pro-government Daily Sabah also reported that Erbas was killed. Nine of the victims died at the crash site, while two died of their injuries in hospital, officials said.
ISTANBUL: Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akara has blamed bad weather for a military helicopter crash that killed 10 soldiers and a senior commander in the country’s restive southeast.
Lt. Gen. Osman Erbas, who headed the army’s 8th Corps based in the eastern Elazig province, was among those killed in Thursday’s accident.
The crash was the deadliest since 13 soldiers died in the southeastern Sirnak province near Turkey’s border with Syria and Iraq in 2017.
“Based on initial information and witnesses’ statements, we determined that the accident occurred due to suddenly changing adverse weather conditions,” the Anadolu state news agency quoted the defense minister as saying.
Turkey: 11 Soldiers Martyred In Military Helicopter Crash
Cougar type helicopter crashes in Tatvan district of eastern Bitlis province, says National Defense Ministry. At least 11 Turkish soldiers, including a senior officer, were martyred and two others injured as a military helicopter crashed in eastern Turkey on Thursday, the National Defense Ministry said. The number of our martyrs has increased to 11. We wish Allah s mercy upon our martyrs and extend our condolences to their precious families, the ministry said on Twitter.
In an earlier statement, the ministry said 10 soldiers lost their lives and three soldiers were injured in the crash in Bitlis province.
Turkey: State Ceremony Held For Martyrs From Crash
State, military funerals held for 11 soldiers martyred in helicopter crash. The 11 Turkish soldiers martyred by a helicopter crash were honored by state and military funeral services on Friday.
Besides the martyred soldiers, including one corps commander, two other soldiers were injured when a military helicopter crashed in the eastern Bitlis province on Thursday.
Contact with the Cougar type military helicopter, which took off from Bingol for Tatvan district of Bitlis at 1.55 p.m. local time (1055GMT), was lost at 2.25 p.m. (1125GMT).
The state ceremony was held in Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in the capital Ankara for 8th Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Osman Erbas, Technical Sgt. Nazmi Yilmaz, Col. Senturk Aydinyer, Lt. Salih Sarioglu, Chief Master Sgt. Mehmet Demir, Master Sgt. Omer Umulu, Lt. Cpts. Tayfun Kures and Gokhan Uysal, Staff Sgt. Sukru Karadirek, and Specialized Sg