Four soldiers killed as military helicopter crashes in Malatya, Turkey
A Turkish army S-70 Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Samanköy in Malatya province on Thursday evening, killing all four soldiers aboard, the defence ministry said.
A Turkish military helicopter crashed on Thursday evening near the village of Samanköy, in the Yesilyurt district of Malatya province, killing all four soldiers on board, Turkey's defence ministry said. The aircraft, an S-70 Sikorsky Black Hawk belonging to the army's 2nd Aviation Regiment, went down at around 18:45 local time while on what officials described as an operational flight.
The cause of the crash has not yet been established, the ministry said. Search and rescue teams reached the wreckage shortly afterwards and recovered the bodies of all four crew members; their names have not been released.
The crash sparked a fire that spread to a nearby house, Bosnian outlet Klix.ba reported, citing Turkish media. Firefighters, ambulance crews and the national disaster agency AFAD were sent to the scene, and the fire was brought under control and put out.
Turkey's defence ministry offered condolences to the families of the four soldiers, and politicians from both the government and the opposition expressed condolences, Austrian newspaper Die Presse reported.
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What we know
- Official · Turkish defence ministry A Turkish army S-70 Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Samanköy, Yesilyurt district, Malatya province, at about 18:45 local time on Thursday, the defence ministry said.
- Official · Turkish defence ministry All four soldiers aboard were killed; their identities have not been released.
- Official · Turkish defence ministry The cause of the crash is not yet known; search and rescue teams reached the wreckage soon after.
- 2+ outlets · Klix.ba, ERT News A fire triggered by the crash spread to a nearby house but was extinguished; no other injuries were reported.
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Figure history
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Why it matters for Europe
The crash is the latest fatal accident involving Turkish military aircraft, whose fleet includes US-made Black Hawks used widely for troop transport across the country's mountainous eastern provinces. Türkiye is a NATO member and one of the alliance's largest militaries, and any crash involving its armed forces draws scrutiny over flight safety standards in a fleet that operates heavily in border and security operations.
Sources
Reported by 13 reports from 13 independent outlets in 7 countries.
- Cumhuriyet: Malatya’da okul girişinde kadın polise bıçaklı saldırı: Kız çocuğu yakalandı
- Sözcü: Malatya'da okul girişinde kadın polise bıçaklı saldırı
- Philenews: GSI: Το καλώδιο που θα δοκιμάσει την Τουρκία – Η κρίσιμη ώρα όταν η πόντιση φτάσει στην τουρκολιβυκή γραμμή
- Newsbomb: Τουρκία: Συνετρίβη στρατιωτικό ελικόπτερο στη Μαλάτεια, 4 νεκροί - Βίντεο
- SigmaLive: Τουρκία: Συνετρίβη στρατιωτικό ελικόπτερο - 4 νεκροί (ΒΙΝΤΕΟ)
Source balance
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Intelligence file
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Confidence and impact scores, 9 more sources, the full situation report and the event timeline.
Questions and answers
- How many people died in the Malatya helicopter crash?
- All four soldiers on board the helicopter were killed, Turkey's defence ministry said.
- What caused the crash?
- The cause has not yet been determined; the defence ministry said the reason was still unclear.
- Where did the helicopter crash?
- It crashed near the village of Samanköy, in the Yesilyurt district of Malatya province in eastern Turkey.
This article was written with AI assistance from 14 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.