Military helicopter crashes in Bitlis, 11 soldiers lose their lives

Photo: AA

Click to readthe article in Turkish / Kurdish

Ten soldiers lost their lives and sevral others were injured when a military helicopter crashed today (March 4) in the eastern province of Bitlis, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

"The contact with the Cougar-type military helicopter, which took off from the eastern province of Bingol to Tatvan district at 1.55 p.m.[10.55 GMT], was cut off at 2.25 p.m.," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry initially announced that nine soldiers lost their lives and four were injured. In the following hours, two of the injured personnel also lost their lives, it said in two separate updates.

One of the deceased soldiers was Lieutenant General Osman Erbaş, the commander of the 8th Army Corps, the ministry confirmed.

President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called his son, Yiğitalp Erbaş, and offered condolences, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The last accident involving a Cougar helicopter happened in Şırnak on May 31, 2017, claiming the lives of 13 soldiers. The helicopter had hit a high voltage transmission line.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmakers submitted a motion for a parliamentary inquiry into the incident on June 5, 2017. The motion stated that the helicopter did not have warning systems for transmission lines and similar obstacles.

The motion is still labeled as "on the agenda" on the parliament's website. (EKN/VK)