Five killed in helicopter crash in Istanbul: Governor

Tolga Özbek - Enver Alas - Ali Aksoyer - Ersan San - Erhan Tekten / Istanbul, Mar 10 (DHA) - A civil helicopter belonging to a private company crashed in the Büyükçekmece district of Istanbul on the morning of March 10, killing five people on board, Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin has stated.
The Sikorsky S-76 model helicopter hit a TV tower in the district before crashing onto a nearby highway, according to an eyewitness who spoke to private broadcaster CNN Türk.
The cause of the accident is unknown, Şahin said, adding that an investigation into the crash was continuing.
The helicopter that belonged to the Eczacıbaşı Group was carrying Eczacıbaşı Building Products Country Director Salim Özen, regional sales manager Aleksandr Vanin, Russian guests Igor Kochergin, Luidmila Chuprova, Elena Badragan along with Turkish pilots Alaattin Nacar and Ahmet Bulut, the holding said in a statement.
“One manager and four Russian guests were on board” Bülent Eczacıbaşı, head of Eczacıbaşı Holding, told reporters at the scene.
The helicopter took off from Atatürk Airport at 11:16 a.m. and crashed five minutes later. The helicopter was heading to the Bozüyük district of the northwestern province of Bilecik to bring the passengers to a facility belonging to the group there.
A number of ambulances and firefighters were immediately dispatched to the scene. The road where the helicopter crashed was largely deserted at the time and no-one on the ground was hurt.
The highway was closed off to traffic following the crash.