Military helicopter crash in Turkey leaves four dead

Four people were killed when a military helicopter came down in southern Turkey on Thursday, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry.The ministry said the aircraft crashed in the evening in Samankoy, a neighbourhood on the southern outskirts of the provincial capital Malatya.No cause for the crash has been established, the ministry added.“As a result of an accident involving our S-70 helicopter in Malatya, for a reason not yet determined, 4 of our heroic comrades-in-arms aboard the helicopter were martyred,” the ministry said in a social media post. “We pray that God will have mercy on our martyrs and offer our condolences and prayers for strength to their grieving families, our Turkish Armed Forces, and our noble nation.”TV images showed the burning wreckage of the helicopter near a cluster of buildings in an otherwise open area of land.The Demiroren News Agency reported that flames had spread to a nearby house. The agency reported no casualties on the ground.Police, firefighters and medical teams were dispatched to the crash.The Sikorsky S-70 is widely used as a transport helicopter by militaries across the world. Its variants include the Black Hawk, which can carry up to 11 soldiers plus its air crew.The Turkish Air Force operates a large base – the 7th Main Jet Base – to the north of Malatya.