(Image: NTV)

The helicopter was carrying a judge, seven police officers, one sergeant and three crew members, the governor’s office in Tunceli, Turkey, said in a statement.

The S-70 Blackhawk helicopter crash may have been caused by poor weather conditions in the mountainous region, they added.

It went down just 10 minutes after taking off from the town of Pulumur.

Tunceli Governor Osman Kaymak announced the bodies of the passengers and crew members were found by rescue crews.

Heavy fog hampered rescue operations spearheaded by the army.

Rescue teams eventually discovered the wreckage in an area suffering from very low visibility.

(Image: GOOGLE)

Military helicopters landed at crash site and rescue crews reached the helicopter wreckage after battling with weather conditions for almost four hours.

"It is being assessed that the helicopter crashed due to adverse weather conditions," the governor's office said in a statement.</s>16:23 (GMT+4) There were 12 people in the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter, which crashed in Turkey’s southeastern province of Tunceli, the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper reported.

"There were seven policemen, two judges and three crewmen in the helicopter," the newspaper reported.

The helicopter belonged to the country’s main police department.

The rescuers were sent to the crash site.

15:15 (GMT+4) A police helicopter has crashed in Turkey’s southeastern province of Tunceli, the Turkish media report.

It is not ruled out that the helicopter crashed due to bad weather conditions.</s>DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 18 (Reuters) - Twelve people were killed when a Turkish police helicopter crashed in the eastern province of Tunceli on Tuesday, the local governor's office said, blaming the crash on poor weather conditions.

The helicopter was carrying a judge, seven police officers, one sergeant and three crew members, the Tunceli governor's office said in a statement.

Heavy fog in the region made the rescue operation for the Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk helicopter difficult, Turkish media reports said. (Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Isabel Coles)</s>All 12 people on board a police helicopter that crashed in south eastern Turkey have died, officials say.

Interior minister Suleyman Soylu said that search and rescue teams were sent to the area after the helicopter's signal was lost.

He said the accident was caused by bad weather conditions.

The helicopter disappeared 10 minutes after taking off from the town of Pulumur, in Tunceli province, the regional governor's office said.

It had been carrying seven police officers, a judge, a soldier and three crew members.</s>A police helicopter flies over a member of security forces near a courthouse in Mugla, western Turkey, on February 20, 2017 (AFP Photo/Bulent KILIC)

Istanbul (AFP) - A Turkish police helicopter crashed on Tuesday in a mountainous region in the east of the country, killing 12 people on board including police officers and a judge, the interior minister said.

Speaking to journalists in a televised statement, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the crash was an "accident that appears to have been caused by weather conditions".

"Any other outside factor is out of the question," he said, ruling out that the helicopter had come under attack.

The Sikorsky helicopter, whose passengers included seven policemen, one judge and one non-commissioned officer, crashed at around 0840 GMT in the eastern province of Tunceli, the governor's office said earlier in a statement.

The other three people on board were crew members.

No signals were received from the Sikorsky helicopter approximately 10 minutes after it took off.

It is believed to have crashed because of unfavourable weather conditions, the statement from the Tunceli governor's office also said.

In March, seven people were killed, including four Russians, when a privately owned helicopter crashed in Istanbul after hitting a television tower.</s>Turkish media reports say a police helicopters with 12 people on board has crashed in southeastern Turkey.

NTV television says Tuesday the helicopter was carrying a group of judges and police officers.

It says the crash occurred in the province of Tunceli.</s>The Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk type helicopter was carrying a judge, seven police officers, one sergeant and three crew members who were on duty on referendum day on April 16, the Tunceli Governor's Office said in a statement. Judges Onur Alan, Ekrem Dereli, Sadettin Demir, Candas Kaplan, Mesut Ozdemir and Ahmet Cihan Kilci, police officers Hasan Y ld r m and Azam Gundede, pilot Abdullah Ortanca, technician Murat Koduk, and contractual pilot Dilaver Karsavuranoglu were reportedly on the helicopter.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Turkish Daily News.</s>DIYARBAKIR, Turkey: A Turkish police helicopter carrying 12 people crashed in the eastern province of Tunceli on Tuesday, the local governor's office said, adding that the crash may have been caused by poor weather conditions.

The helicopter was carrying a judge, seven police officers, one sergeant and three crew members, the Tunceli governor's office said in a statement.

Heavy fog in the region made the rescue operation difficult, Turkish media reports said.</s>A Turkish police helicopter with at least 12 people on board, including police officers and judges, on Tuesday crashed in eastern Turkey, local media reported.

The chopper, whose passengers included two judges and seven policemen, crashed in the eastern province of Tunceli, the private NTV television said, without giving details on the cause of the crash.</s>ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A police helicopter carrying officers, a judge and a soldier crashed due to bad weather in a mountainous region of southeastern Turkey Tuesday, killing all 12 people on board, the country’s interior minister said.

Suleyman Soylu said search and rescue teams were sent to the area after the helicopter’s signal was lost. It took the rescue teams several hours to find the helicopter wreckage due to altitude, adverse weather conditions and low visibility.

It had been carrying seven police officers, a judge, a soldier and three crewmembers.

The helicopter disappeared 10 minutes after taking off from the town of Pulumur, in Tunceli province, the regional governor’s office said.

“It is being assessed that the helicopter crashed due to adverse weather conditions,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
A police Sikorsky S-70 helicopter crashes in Tunceli Province, Turkey, killing 12 people.