Turkey offers condolences over Russia helicopter crash

By Tugcenur Yilmaz

ANKARA

The Turkish foreign minister on Saturday offered his condolences to the victims of a helicopter crash in Siberia.

“I was saddened to learn about the helicopter crash in Krasnoyarsk city in the Siberian Federal District of the Russian Federation, killing 18 people,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a tweet.

“I express my words of condolences to the Russian Federation, to the Russian people, and to the relatives of the victims,” Cavusoglu added.

The helicopter was transporting employees of Vankor company, which is developing oilfields in Siberia, from their workplace to the company's base.

The accident occurred early Saturday morning.

Both a technical malfunction and pilot error are being considered as possible causes of the crash.

Russian media also reported an explosion of the helicopter's fuel tanks.