Seventeen soldiers die in Turkey helicopter crash

November 10, 2012

Seventeen soldiers have died today as the result of a helicopter crash in Turkey's southeastern, Governor Ahmed Aydin has said. The provincial governor added that the fatalities belonged to Turkish special forces.

Investigations into the crash are ongoing, although Governor Ahmed Aydin has said the aircraft hit Herekol mountain as it travelled through heavy fog.

The soldiers were reportedly on their way to deployment against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK seeks to increase rights for and gain  in the southeast of Turkey, which is a predominantly Kurdish area. The have been fighting with the PKK for decades.

Kurdish militants, though active in this part of Turkey, do not appear to have played any part in the crash.