UPDATE - Helicopter crash in eastern Turkey martyrs 12 on board

UPDATES WITH INTERIOR MINISTER’S REMARKS

By Haydar Toprakci

TUNCELI, Turkey (AA) - Rescue teams have reached the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed in eastern Turkey earlier Tuesday, martyring all 12 people on board.

The helicopter had carried seven police officers, one judge, and one army sergeant, along with three crew members.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that the helicopter disappeared at 11:43 a.m. local time (0840GMT) after it took off from the eastern Tunceli-Pulumur mountainous area about eight minutes earlier.

The rescue teams had to climb for over two hours to reach the wreckage, at around 4:34 p.m., said Soylu.

The crash site was an area close to the village of Sarigul, at an altitude of almost 2,500 meters, Soylu said.

“The heavy snow and rain has reduced visibility to about 300 meters,” he said, adding that the rescue teams couldn’t reach the area by helicopter.

Soylu also blamed the crash of the Sikorsky-type helicopter on bad weather conditions.