Four Killed as Military Helicopter Crashes in Malatya, Türkiye

Four Turkish military personnel were killed in the Malatya helicopter crash on Thursday evening, when an S-70 helicopter came down in the eastern province of Malatya, Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defence has confirmed. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

The helicopter came down at around 18:45 local time in the Samanköy neighbourhood of Yeşilyurt district, on the southern outskirts of the provincial capital. Rescue teams reached the wreckage soon afterwards, and firefighters, medical teams and personnel from Türkiye’s disaster management agency, AFAD, were dispatched to the scene.

FAKTA

• Four military personnel on board the S-70 helicopter were killed in the crash in Malatya province, eastern Türkiye.
• The helicopter came down at around 18:45 local time on Thursday, 12 November, in the Samanköy neighbourhood of Yeşilyurt district.
• The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, the Ministry of National Defence said.
• The crash started a fire that spread to a nearby house before firefighters brought it under control; no civilians on the ground were injured.
• The Malatya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a judicial investigation, and the ministry will also carry out a technical inquiry.

What happened in the Malatya helicopter crash

“Four of our heroic comrades-in-arms on board were martyred when our S-70 helicopter crashed in Malatya for reasons that have not yet been determined,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

In an initial statement, issued before announcing the deaths, the ministry said rescue teams had reached the wreckage and begun search-and-rescue operations. Local broadcaster footage showed ambulances, police and firefighting vehicles at the scene, with smoke and flames coming from the wreckage.

The crash started a fire that spread to a nearby house before emergency crews extinguished it, the DHA news agency reported. No civilians on the ground were injured.

The ministry has not disclosed the names or ranks of the four personnel, which service operated the helicopter, or what mission it was flying.

Investigation under way

The Malatya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a judicial investigation into the crash, and the Defence Ministry said a technical inquiry would also work to establish the cause. Officials have given no indication of whether weather, mechanical failure or another factor may have played a part.

The S-70 is a member of the Black Hawk family of military transport helicopters, widely used by the Turkish Armed Forces for troop movement and utility missions. A Turkish-built variant flies under the designation T70, and the type can carry up to 11 soldiers in addition to its aircrew.

Recent Turkish military helicopter accidents

Thursday’s crash is the deadliest accident involving a Turkish military helicopter this year. In December 2024, six military personnel were killed when two helicopters collided during a training flight in the southwestern province of Isparta. In March 2021, a Cougar military helicopter crashed near Tatvan in the eastern province of Bitlis, killing 11 military personnel and injuring two others.

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