Seven people were killed and eight injured when a helicopter carrying Turkish military personnel, their wives and children crashed in the Black Sea region of northeast Turkey on Tuesday, the Turkish armed forces said. 
 
The cause of the Sikorsky helicopter&#39;s crash, as it returned to the town of Giresun from a visit to military outposts in the area, could not immediately be determined, a statement on the military&#39;s website said. 
 
However, the Prime Minister and one of his deputies said poor weather was responsible, rather than a militant attack. The Turkish armed forces are involved in a conflict with Kurdish militants focussed in the country&#39;s southeast. 
 
Those on board, who according to media reports included a brigadier general, had been visiting military personnel and their families at gendarmerie outposts to mark the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan. 
 
&quot;Unfortunately, seven people among our comrades in arms, their wives and children lost their lives and the eight injured people were immediately sent to hospitals in the region,&quot; the army said, without specifying who had died. 
 
Rescue teams and ambulances rushed to the site of the crash, but local residents arrived first. Video broadcast by CNN Turk showed locals helping the wounded down a hillside and taking them in their vehicles to nearby hospitals. 
 
The helicopter crashed at around 5:15 pm (1415 GMT) near Tohumluk village in the Alucra district of Giresun province, the military said. 
 
As well as a brigadier general, on board were two colonels and other officers, along with four of their wives and three children, the private news agency Dogan reported. 
 
Earlier, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the crash, which occurred in the highlands of Giresun province, appeared to be an accident caused by bad weather. 
 
&quot;It is understood to be an accident resulting purely from poor weather conditions,&quot; Yildirim told reporters in televised comments. 
 
Deputy prime minister Nurettin Canikli, who travelled to the area of the crash, later echoed Yildirim&#39;s words in comments to reporters and ruled out the possibility that an attack could have been responsible. 
 
In May, the army said a military helicopter that had crashed a week earlier may have been brought down by Kurdish militants with a ground-to-air missile. 
 
(Reuters)

The accident appears to be caused purely by bad weather, though has not been immediately determined

Seven people were killed and eight injured when a helicopter carrying Turkish military personnel, their wives and children crashed in the Black Sea region of northeast Turkey on Tuesday, the Turkish armed forces said. The cause of the Sikorsky helicopter's crash, as it returned to the town of Giresun from a visit to military outposts in the area, could not immediately be determined, a statement on the military's website said. However, the Prime Minister and one of his deputies said poor weather was responsible, rather than a militant attack. The Turkish armed forces are involved in a conflict with Kurdish militants focussed in the country's southeast. Those on board, who according to media reports included a brigadier general, had been visiting military personnel and their families at gendarmerie outposts to mark the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan. "Unfortunately, seven people among our comrades in arms, their wives and children lost their lives and the eight injured people were immediately sent to hospitals in the region," the army said, without specifying who had died. Rescue teams and ambulances rushed to the site of the crash, but local residents arrived first. Video broadcast by CNN Turk showed locals helping the wounded down a hillside and taking them in their vehicles to nearby hospitals. The helicopter crashed at around 5:15 pm (1415 GMT) near Tohumluk village in the Alucra district of Giresun province, the military said. As well as a brigadier general, on board were two colonels and other officers, along with four of their wives and three children, the private news agency Dogan reported. Earlier, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the crash, which occurred in the highlands of Giresun province, appeared to be an accident caused by bad weather. "It is understood to be an accident resulting purely from poor weather conditions," Yildirim told reporters in televised comments. Deputy prime minister Nurettin Canikli, who travelled to the area of the crash, later echoed Yildirim's words in comments to reporters and ruled out the possibility that an attack could have been responsible. In May, the army said a military helicopter that had crashed a week earlier may have been brought down by Kurdish militants with a ground-to-air missile. (Reuters)

7 killed, 8 injured in military helicopter crash in northern Turkey

Seventeen Colombian soldiers died when their Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter crashed in a central mountainous area of the Andean country, the army announced on Monday. 
 
According to officials, the accident in the Caldas province, some 180 km from the Bogota capital, occurred on June 26 when the helicopter was travelling from the jungle province of Choco to the Tolemaida military base. 
 
Search and rescue teams were deployed on foot in lush jungle to find the site of the crash but no survivors were found. 
 
&quot;I pass on the sad news that our men have been found dead in the site of the accident. Firstly, I want to heartfully express my condolences, to embrace the families of those four officials, seven deputy officials and seven soldiers who were lost in this tragedy,&quot; said Colombian army commander, General Alberto Jose Meja. 
 
Officials have blamed bad weather rather than foul play for the tragedy but a full investigation is underway for answers into the crash. 
 
President Juan Manuel Santos passed on his condolences to family members of the fallen soldiers. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re waiting for the result of the investigation to see what really happened. It&#39;s a sad event, a sad episode and our hearts are with the families of these fallen heroes who died doing their job,&quot; he said at military barracks. 
 
Military fatalities are not uncommon in Colombia with many soldiers operating in dense jungle regions against strong drug cartels. 
 
German Martinez lost a member of his family in the helicopter crash. He told media that Colombian soldiers put the lives of citizens before their own in the line of duty. 
 
&quot;When they (soldiers) take on this role one does not always thinking about receiving news like this. They look after the lives of all citizens, attentive to what they must do and they put their lives at risk for us,&quot; said Martinez. 
 
The last major helicopter crash happened in Colombia took place in August, when 16 police officers died after a mechanical failure caused their US-made UH-60 Black Hawk to crash during an anti-drug operation in Colombia&#39;s northeast. 
 
(Reuters)

Search and rescue teams found no survivors in the jungle province of Choco where the chopper went down

Seventeen Colombian soldiers died when their Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter crashed in a central mountainous area of the Andean country, the army announced on Monday. According to officials, the accident in the Caldas province, some 180 km from the Bogota capital, occurred on June 26 when the helicopter was travelling from the jungle province of Choco to the Tolemaida military base. Search and rescue teams were deployed on foot in lush jungle to find the site of the crash but no survivors were found. "I pass on the sad news that our men have been found dead in the site of the accident. Firstly, I want to heartfully express my condolences, to embrace the families of those four officials, seven deputy officials and seven soldiers who were lost in this tragedy," said Colombian army commander, General Alberto Jose Meja. Officials have blamed bad weather rather than foul play for the tragedy but a full investigation is underway for answers into the crash. President Juan Manuel Santos passed on his condolences to family members of the fallen soldiers. "We're waiting for the result of the investigation to see what really happened. It's a sad event, a sad episode and our hearts are with the families of these fallen heroes who died doing their job," he said at military barracks. Military fatalities are not uncommon in Colombia with many soldiers operating in dense jungle regions against strong drug cartels. German Martinez lost a member of his family in the helicopter crash. He told media that Colombian soldiers put the lives of citizens before their own in the line of duty. "When they (soldiers) take on this role one does not always thinking about receiving news like this. They look after the lives of all citizens, attentive to what they must do and they put their lives at risk for us," said Martinez. The last major helicopter crash happened in Colombia took place in August, when 16 police officers died after a mechanical failure caused their US-made UH-60 Black Hawk to crash during an anti-drug operation in Colombia's northeast. (Reuters)

Helicopter crash kills 17 Colombian soldiers

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