Party chief, 5 others found dead in crash
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 28, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The wreckage of the helicopter carrying Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, leader of the Great Union Party, or BBP, and five others was found Friday along with the bodies of all the passengers in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaraş.
The helicopter went missing Wednesday as it was returning from an election rally in Kahramanmaraş . An intense land and air search and rescue operation was carried out by a team of soldiers, police, civil defense and Turkish Armed Forces personnel on the snow-covered mountains to find the passengers. Harsh weather conditions hampered rescue efforts in the mountainous area where the search was under way. The wreckage was found by the village guards between the villages of Sisne and Elmalı in Kahramanmaraş on the third day of rescue efforts. Reports indicated the helicopter was smashed into pieces and spread over an area of about 50-60 square-meters when it was found.
Speaking to the CNNTurk, village guard Abidin Karataş said the wreckage went down in an open area and was located at a fairly opposite point from where the rescue operation was held.
He said it was surprising that the wreckage was not detected in such an open field. He also said the bodies inside the wreckage were frozen and barely recognizable. The land and air teams could not reach the wreckage because of the weather conditions when the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press.
Government officials said all necessary measures were taken and the required manpower, health personnel and helicopters were mobilized to the area. A total of 1,707 military personnel participated in the search efforts, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak told a weekly press briefing yesterday. A group of ultra-nationalist youth protested the government for not giving the required attention to the search efforts, and some BBP members claimed the search and rescue operation was held in the wrong spot.
Opposition Republican People’s Party leader Deniz Baykal said Friday if there was a deficiency in terms of technological equipment, the problem should be solved and that the rescue operation was ongoing in the wrong place. An injured journalist in the helicopter had told an emergency hotline immediately after the crash that everyone appeared to be dead and that he was freezing.
Speaking to the CNNTurk, village guard Abidin Karataş said the wreckage went down in an open area and was located at a fairly opposite point from where the rescue operation was held.
He said it was surprising that the wreckage was not detected in such an open field. He also said the bodies inside the wreckage were frozen and barely recognizable. The land and air teams could not reach the wreckage because of the weather conditions when the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press.
Government officials said all necessary measures were taken and the required manpower, health personnel and helicopters were mobilized to the area. A total of 1,707 military personnel participated in the search efforts, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak told a weekly press briefing yesterday. A group of ultra-nationalist youth protested the government for not giving the required attention to the search efforts, and some BBP members claimed the search and rescue operation was held in the wrong spot.
Opposition Republican People’s Party leader Deniz Baykal said Friday if there was a deficiency in terms of technological equipment, the problem should be solved and that the rescue operation was ongoing in the wrong place. An injured journalist in the helicopter had told an emergency hotline immediately after the crash that everyone appeared to be dead and that he was freezing.