Helicopter Crashes in Şırnak

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Cooger-type helicopter has tangled to a high voltage power line and crashed after taking off from the Şenoba Brigade Commandership in Uludere district in Şırnak. 13 soldiers have lost their lives.

The Governorship and General Staff announced that the helicopter tangling to a high voltage power line crashed at around 8:55 p.m. yesterday (May 31).

The names of the soldiers killed in the crash were published on Hürriyet as follows: Major General Aydoğan Aydın, Colonel Oğuzhan Küçükdemirkol, Colonel Gökhan Peker, Lt. Col. Songül Yakut, Major Koray Onay, Captain İlker Acar, Captain Nuri Şener, Sergeant Major Mehmet Erdoğan, Sergeant Major Zeki Koç, Pilot Captain Serhat Sığınak, Pilot Lieutenant Abdülmüttalip Kesikbaş, Sergeant Major Fevzi Kıral, Infantry Sergeant Major Hakan İncekal.

Yakut was the first woman commander in the Gendarmerie, according to the report.

Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, Defense Minister Fikri Işık, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu also headed to Şırnak following the crash. (BK/TK)