No Survivors in Russian Firefighting Be-200 Plane Crash in Turkey

ANKARA (Sputnik) – Five crew members from the Russian military and three Turkish specialists who were on board of the Russian Be-200 aircraft died in the crash in Turkey, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Saturday.

“All those on board the Russian Be-200 aircraft that had crashed in the Republic of Turkey, including five crew members from the Russian military and three Turkish citizens, who were indicating the location of fires, died,” the statement says.

Earlier in the day, the country’s Forestry Department said that a Russian-leased Be-200 firefighter aircraft had crashed while extinguishing a fire in the vicinity of ​​the city of Kahramanmaras. A rescue team was later dispatched to the site. The crew consisted of eight people – six from a Russian team and two from the Forestry Department, according to a statement by the ministry. Per the Russian side, there were five Russian and three Turkish crew members on board the craft at the time of the incident. An investigative commission has since been dispatched to the scene, the ministry said.

A video has since appeared on the internet allegedly showing the moment of the crash:

NTV said that some time after the start of the mission, communication with the plane, which was deployed in the province of Mugla, was lost. According to preliminary data, the plane was unable to gain the desired altitude after loading water and crashed into rocks.

“While extinguishing a fire near the city of Kahramanmaras, a Be-200 firefighting aircraft rented in Russia crashed. Rescuers were sent to the crash site. The crew consisted of eight people – six from the Russian team and two from the Forestry Department [of Turkey]”, the statement from Turkey’s Forestry Department reads.

The Russian Embassy in Ankara later told Sputnik it was looking into the causes of the incident and had also sent its team to the crash site.

Sourse: sputniknews.com