Four Turkish soldiers were killed on Thursday, November 12, when a military S-70 helicopter crashed in the eastern province of Malatya, Turkey's Defence Ministry said — an accident whose cause, the ministry said, has not yet been determined.

Source: Reuters

"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 ministry said in a statement. The ministry has not released the names of the dead.

Source: AFP via Turkish Minute

4Turkish military personnel killed in the crash
S-70Helicopter type involved — the Sikorsky Black Hawk family
~18:45 localReported time of the crash on Thursday evening, per Turkish media
2Previous fatal Turkish military helicopter accidents cited in reporting — Isparta in Dec 2024 (6 killed) and Bitlis in Mar 2021 (11 killed)

Where it came down, and the response

The helicopter came down in the Samankoy neighbourhood of Yesilyurt district in the early evening, Turkish media reported. Firefighters, medical teams and personnel from Turkey's disaster management agency, AFAD, were dispatched to the scene, and local broadcaster footage showed ambulances, police and firefighting vehicles there, with smoke and flames coming from the wreckage, Reuters reported.

Source: AFP via Turkish Minute

The crash sparked a fire that spread to a nearby house before emergency crews extinguished it, the DHA news agency reported. No casualties on the ground were reported in the accounts carried by Reuters and AFP. In an initial statement, issued before it announced the deaths, the Defence Ministry said rescue teams had reached the wreckage and begun search-and-rescue operations.

Source: AFP via Turkish Minute

What is not yet known

The ministry said the reason for the crash was unknown, and it did not say in the reports carried by Reuters and AFP which service operated the helicopter or what mission it was flying. The S-70 is Sikorsky's designation for the Black Hawk family of transport helicopters, widely used by Turkey's armed forces. What happens next: an official investigation into the cause, and the formal identification of the four personnel by the ministry.

Source: Reuters

What is solid

  • Four military personnel died in an S-70 helicopter crash in Malatya province on Thursday, per the Turkish Defence Ministry statement reported by Reuters and AFP
  • The Defence Ministry said the cause of the crash has not yet been determined
  • The helicopter came down in the Samankoy neighbourhood of Yesilyurt district, and AFAD, fire and medical teams were sent to the scene

What is only claimed

  • The exact time of the crash (~18:45 local) and the fire spreading to a nearby house rest on Turkish media and DHA reporting carried by AFP, not on the ministry statement itself
  • No official account yet explains why the helicopter crashed — any cause would be speculation at this stage

A pattern of fatal training and transport accidents

Turkey has suffered several fatal military helicopter accidents in recent years, AFP reported. In December 2024, six military personnel were killed when two helicopters collided during a training flight in the southwestern province of Isparta; one aircraft crashed while the other landed safely. In March 2021, a Cougar military helicopter crashed near Tatvan in the eastern province of Bitlis, killing 11 military personnel and injuring two others.

Source: AFP via Turkish Minute