Turkey: Reconnaissance plane crashes into mountain, killing 7 security personnel

Seven security personnel were killed when a plane used for surveillance and reconnaissance crashed into a mountain in Turkey’s Van province.

“Our teams have reported that we have lost seven veterans, including two pilots,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told the media in the eastern province.

He said the plane crashed into a mountain at an altitude of about 2,200 feet above the ground. The plane took off from Van Ferret Milan Airport at 6:35 pm local time.

Suleyman Soylu said the 2015 model aircraft had been on surveillance and inspection missions in Van and Hakkari provinces since Monday.

He said that the last time the pilots of the plane contacted the tower was at 10:30 pm towards Başkale district.

The Interior Minister said that communication with the plane was completely cut off at around 11 a.m.

He later visited the crash site.

It should be noted that in February this year, a plane carrying 177 passengers skidded off the runway at the airport in Istanbul, Turkey, which caught fire and shattered the plane into three pieces.

Turkish officials say no passenger was killed in the crash, but dozens were injured.

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