Police Helicopter Carrying 12 Crashes in Eastern Turkey: Official


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Turkish police helicopter with 12 people on board, including police officers and a judge, Tuesday crashed in eastern Turkey, the local governor's office said.

The chopper, whose passengers included seven policemen, one judge and one non-commissioned officer, crashed at around 11:40 a.m. in the eastern province of Tunceli, the governor's office said in a statement.

The other three people on board were crew members, Reuters reported.

No signals were received from the Sikorsky helicopter approximately 10 minutes after it took off. It is believed to have crashed because of unfavourable weather conditions, according to the statement.

Rescue teams have been dispatched to the scene.

In March, seven people were killed, including four Russians, when a privately owned helicopter crashed in Istanbul after hitting a television tower.